The Impact of COVID-19 on Immigration Attitudes in the US

In October 2020, the Centers for Disease Control in the U.S. introduced “Title 42” as an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 by halting almost all forms of immigration. This policy is a clear illustration of the link between immigration and perceived disease contagion, and the association is not new. There is, in fact, a longstanding literature on the relationship between “contagion threat” and attitudes towards immigration. How might these attitudes shift in light of the COVID-19 pandemic? This study uses a two-wave panel survey of immigration attitudes (Wave 1 in October 2019 before COVID-19 and Wave 2 in April 2020 during lockdowns in the US) and finds some important shifts in attitudes. We find no evidence that underlying support for immigration was changed by the pandemic. That said, Democrats worried about the threat of COVID-19 increasingly supported lower levels of immigration, and Republicans worried about the threat of COVID-19 were more likely to support financial relief for immigrants. The pandemic is thus a timely illustration of the connection between immigration and contagion threat.