Attitudes toward Immigrants in Nebraska

We examined the relative effects of three theories of prejudice: perceptions of threat, contact with immigrants, and a cosmopolitanism outlook, in predicting attitudes toward immigrants in Nebraska, a state experiencing a substantial rise in immigrant populations. We found perceived threat was associated with unfavorable attitudes toward immigrants while contact with immigrants and a cosmopolitan outlook were associated with favorable attitudes. Furthermore, we found that the presence of a perceived threat of immigrants is more likely to increase negative attitudes toward immigrants than does contact with immigrants or a cosmopolitan attitude in increasing positive attitudes toward immigrants. Additionally, we found the absence of perceived threat has a stronger effect on attitudes (positively) than does its presence (negatively) in the case of respondents’ view that immigrants contribute to an increase in crime. The effect of the presence of contact and a cosmopolitan outlook on attitudes toward immigrants is at least as great (positively) as the effect of their absence (negatively). We discuss implications for the changing attitudes toward immigrants in the state and differences between state and national attitudes.