How U.S. Born and Immigrant Latinos Differ in Their Views on the Reasons Leading to Migration

Even though most young adults in the U.S. no longer believe that the concept of the "American Dream," defined as "if you work hard you'll get ahead" holds true, most Latinos, whether born in the U.S. or abroad, agree that the disproportionate abundance of opportunities in the country is a large driver of migration.

A new poll by the Pew Research Center shows that most Latinos born outside the U.S. say that bad economic conditions in migrants' home countries and good economic opportunities in the U.S. are a major reason in their decisions to make the journey. Latinos born in the U.S. mostly agreed with the premise, although at lower numbers.

Concretely, 85% of foreign born respondents said the former premise is a "major reason" why a large number of migrants are seeking to enter the U.S., while 8% said it's a minor reason. Moreover, 84% said the latter is also a major reason, with 9% calling it a minor one.

As for U.S. born Latinos, 74% said bad economic conditions in their home countries is a major reason for migrants to try and reach the U.S., and 20% believed it is a minor one. 71% said good opportunities were a major reason and 22% that it as a minor reason.

Meanwhile, the study said, "U.S.-born and immigrant Latinos share similar views when it comes to violence in migrants' home countries, migrants' belief that U.S. policies with help them stay, and greater political freedoms in the U.S. as major reasons for why many migrants are seeking to enter the country."

The importance given to the migrant situation at the border, which currently dominates the national conversation, varies depending on respondents' age, as double the amount of those aged 50 and over follow the coverage, compared to people aged 18-49 (22 and 44%, respectively).

Partisanship and place of birth also play a role. "Immigrant Hispanics are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to say they follow the news about the border closely (38% vs. 22%)," while "46% of Latino Republicans say they are paying extremely or very close attention to the border situation, compared with 22% of Latino Democrats."

Latinos were also split on whether crime levels in the U.S. are affected by the border situation. 47% said it's leading to more crime, while the same amount said it didn't have an impact. The remaining 6% said it's leading to less crime.

Looking at age levels, 59% of those aged 50 and older said the situation leads to more crime, a figure that dropped to 42% for the 18-49 demographic.

The large disparity can be seen when it comes to partisanship. Almost three quarters of Republican respondents (72%) said the situation leads to more crime, compared to the 33% of Democrats who gave the same answer.

"On the other hand, six-in-ten Latino Democrats say the increase in migrants at the border is having little impact on crime levels in the country. Just 22% of Latino Republicans say the same," the study concluded.