Immigrants, inclusion, and the role of hard work: Exploring anti-immigrant attitudes among young people in Britain

Abstract

Previous research on youth attitudes towards immigration has tended to focus on explaining why young people are more accepting of immigrants than their elders. In this article, therefore, we focus on the young people that are opposed to immigration. First, we use nationally representative survey data from young adults in England to highlight that a substantial minority hold negative attitudes towards immigrants. In the second half of the article, we then turn to qualitative data (in-depth interviews) to explore how young people talk about and justify holding these negative attitudes. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data suggest that anti-immigrant attitudes among young people are linked to the perception that immigrants pose an economic and cultural threat, and to the spread of culturalised forms of citizenship. What the qualitative data also reveal, however, is how these distinct discourses reinforce one another and how they intersect with other types of prejudice. We will argue that the idea of Hard Work is central to understanding anti-immigrant attitudes, as this has become a deeply-embedded cultural norm that is being used to include and exclude (immigrants and others), and to distinguish between who is deserving of membership of British society and who is not.

Mobility for Me but Not for Others: The Contradictory Cosmopolitan Practices of Contemporary White British Youth

“…Surveys have shown that cosmopolitan practices are associated with social class and higher levels of education (see Keating, 2016), yet these cases demonstrate that this one-way engagement can be found in all educational levels and social classes. This article thus also adds to existing qualitative research that shows that exclusionary attitudes are not the exclusive preserve of any gender, class or ethnicity (see Keating and Janmaat, 2020; Patel and Connelly, 2019).…”

“…First, Western youth tend to view their own mobility as a temporary phase (Frändberg, 2015) whereas non-Western mobility tends to be perceived as a permanent act of immigration and it is underpinned by (negative) assumptions about the attributes and aspirations of the immigrant Other (Blinder, 2015). For example, many young people in Britain view immigrants as poor, unskilled and a drain on the country’s resources (see Keating and Janmaat, 2020). Second, these attitudes also reflect a belief that (White) young people from the Global North should have privileged access to whatever country and culture that they wish to experience, in whatever way they wish to experience it.…”

“…The idea that immigrants come to Britain to ‘scrounge’ rather than work is widespread in social and media discourse, and it is linked to the view that immigrants pose an economic threat and a drain on scarce social welfare resources (see discussion in Keating and Janmaat, 2020). However, Frank’s voting preferences suggest that there is, in fact, an ethnic and racial dimension to his attitudes, and that he also views immigrants as a cultural threat.…”

Shifting categories, changing attitudes: A boundary work approach in the study of attitudes toward migrants

“…Some dovetail with the above-mentioned perspectives. For example, Keating and Janmaat (2020) examine the ways in which young people view immigrants as an economic and a cultural threat. Relatedly, Parks-Yancy et al (2009) suggest symbolic threat as a unifying framework to explain attitudes among "white Americans," finding that most respondents distinguish the "right kind" of immigrant, economically self-sufficient and ready to assimilate.…”

“…Some dovetail with the above‐mentioned perspectives. For example, Keating and Janmaat (2020) examine the ways in which young people view immigrants as an economic and a cultural threat. Relatedly, Parks‐Yancy et al.…”