Concern over Immigration and Support for Public Services

This paper presents data and analysis suggesting that immigration as an issue has ramified on to a broader policy agenda than "just" immigration. We show that, controlling for a wide range of political and demographic variables, those who say that immigration is the most important problem facing the state of California are more likely to want a smaller government that provides fewer services. However, we also find that this link weakens as the number of people concerned about immigration grows. The results suggest that public concern over immigration can be, within some range, a potent means of rallying voters against government. This potential, however, weakens as the proportion of individuals concerned about immigration rises beyond a certain level.