Do Mexicans Want a Wall?: Mexican Immigration Attitudes

Attitudes toward immigrants shape political discussion and public perception. Scholars highlight immigration attitudes as being driven by factors such as culture and economics. Public opinion theories from scholars such as Sears and Downs provide a basis for the theories posed in the study. Research on immigration attitudes has primarily focused on North America and Europe, but Mexico has not been investigated as extensively. This study looks to see if there has been a shift in Mexican attitudes toward immigrants and what factors play a role in shaping attitudes. To do this, I test whether Mexican attitudes toward immigrants have shifted over time and what factors shape opinion. I analyze public opinion polls done by the Latinobarómetro in 2018, 2020, and 2023. I ran ordered logistic regressions for each year to decipher which variables influenced Mexican public attitudes. The results suggest that influential variables changed over time, with economic status, party identification, age, and region having more negative attitudes toward immigrants. I find support for a shift in immigration attitudes within Mexico.