Keep Those Kids Out: Nativism and Attitudes Toward Access to Public Education for the Children of Undocumented Immigrants

ABSTRACT

Despite the 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision guaranteeing education for undocumented children, access appears to be under threat as some states and localities reconsider existing policy. The basis of these attitudes should be better understood. We are unaware of research that has examined nativist sentiment as a predictor of attitudes toward education policy for children. Using data from the 2006 Immigration Survey from the Pew Hispanic Center we consider the influence of cultural and economic nativism on attitudes toward education access for immigrant children. Findings show that certain measures of both forms of nativism predict opposition to education access.

KEYWORDS:

• Immigration
• nativism
• public opinion
• education