Immigration policy is a recurring and high intensity public policy issue in the United States and other developed countries.  Public opinion surveys reflect deeply felt divisions on which policies nations should pursue. The attitudes toward immigrants and immigration (ATII) captured in these surveys provide insight into potential shifts or stasis in immigration policy development but prior empirical analyses of survey data are largely based on theories of economic or group threat factors as predictors of pro- or anti-immigrant and immigration policy preferences.

In contrast, this paper tests a theoretical argument, based on Moral Foundations Theory, for social conservatism (a values construct) as a likely predictor of immigration policy preferences. Two different operationalizations of a social conservatism index are tested based on the hypothesis that increased levels of social conservatism will result in negative attitudes toward immigration and immigrants (ATII).  Using regression analysis of data from the Pew Research Center’s 2002 American Values Survey, and controlling for factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, education levels, income, party affiliation, employment status and religiosity, the results indicate that social conservatism is a statistically significant predictor of ATII and has greater predictive capacity than any other control variable. The results caution strongly against a purely economic model of analysis when seeking to understand what drives attitudes toward immigrants and immigration.  The paper concludes by summarizing potential implications for policy-makers.