A Multilevel Analysis of Support for Immigrants’ Social Rights in Latin America

Western theories and empirical comparative research on attitudes toward immigrants and their rights have largely overlooked Latin America. To address this gap, we conducted multilevel ordered logistic regression analyses on Latinobarómetro surveys from 17 countries (N = 19,004). The findings show that support for immigrants’ social rights is more contingent on immigration-related benefits—especially cultural enrichment—than on perceived threats. When threats do mobilize opposition, the perceived fiscal burden emerges as the sole significant driver, overriding both concerns about labor market competition and fears of rising crime. Furthermore, right-wing individuals were no less supportive of immigrants’ social rights than left-wing individuals. Instead, the most welfare-chauvinist attitudes were found among the politically disengaged. At the macrosocial level, the results provide evidence that contextual factors not only exert a direct statistical effect on public support for immigrants’ social rights but also moderate the influence of perceived micro-level threats. In particular, the national unemployment rate and the immigrant stock exacerbate the exclusionary effect of the perceived fiscal burden on levels of support among citizens. Ultimately, these findings challenge some theoretical assumptions derived from intergroup threat theory, provide novel evidence for the Threat-Benefit Model, and further suggest a distinct political dynamic in the region.