Stephanie Nawyn, Michigan State University

Presentation Title: Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and the Demographics of the “Mushy Middle”

About the Presentation

Political commentators have written a great deal about political polarization, but
increasingly thinkers are considering the more centrist positions that people hold. In the
context of divisive issues such as abortion or immigration policy, who are the people
that embrace a middle-of-the-road position – what is their demographic makeup and
does that makeup change over time? And how are they different from people who adopt
more extreme positions? Drawing from the Michigan State of the State Survey, I
examine data on attitudes about immigration and create a demographic profile of
respondents who fall within a middle range of pro- vs. anti-immigration. I also look at
changes in attitudes about immigration between 2011 and 2024. Results indicate that
leading up to the last presidential election, Michigan residents had grown more skeptical
of immigration but the proportion that were fervently anti-immigrant had not increased.
Further, those expressing more ambivalent attitudes towards immigration suggest that
they are indeed a “mushy middle” on partisan politics but have surprising demographic
characteristics. I conclude with discussion on what direction these centrists might move
towards in the future.

About the Speaker

Stephanie J. Nawyn is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Michigan State
University. Her research and teaching expertise are in migration, gender and refugees,
and her scholarship includes collaborations with humanitarian organizations in the US,
Türkiye, Jordan, and Lebanon. She also performs work on equity in higher education and
was the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE grant. Her recent research has been published in
International Migration Review, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Refugee Survey
Quarterly, and Environment and Security. She is the co-editor with Breanne L. Grace and
Cristián Doña-Reveco of the upcoming Routledge International Handbook on Migration
Studies (3rd edition).

Seminar Format:

Location IN PERSON: 2208 LeFrak Hall. We are requesting advanced registration so that we can track capacity.  Please use this link to RSVP for in-person attendance.

Location ONLINE VIA ZOOM: Zoom registration link.  Upon registration, you will receive an automatically generated email with the direct link for the seminar

If accommodations are needed, please send a request to the meeting organizer (mprc-support@umd.edu) at least 72 hours prior to the event, if possible, to allow time to discuss and implement alternatives.