~ gabriella giudici

Education is measured in years; POLVIEWS runs from 1 (very liberal) to 7 (very conservative).  The estimated effect of having a foreign-born parent is therefore roughly equal to 14 years of education or 8 stepson a left-right scale that only has 6 steps to begin with.It’s one thing to say that self-interest has little or no effect on policy preferences.  The children of the foreign-born go far beyond this.  Immigrants hurt them the most, but they oppose immigration the least.  How is this possible?The best explanation is that the children of the foreign-born, like many other groups, are group-interested voters.  They’re concerned about the well-being of people they identify with, people “like them.”  The children of immigrants know what it’s like to be an immigrant from first-hand experience.  They know the misery of the Old Country, and the hardships of the New.  And when they ponder immigration policy, their first thought isn’t their wages.  Their first thought is that the law is denying someone like their parents, cousins, or neighbors a chance to work for a better life.