Immigration, Threat, and Trust in Government in Changing Rural Communities

This article argues that rural Americans' trust in Congress and the federal government may be partially conditioned by anti-immigrant attitudes. Surveying residents of four different Great Plains communities with growing immigrant populations, the authors find that respondents who feel threatened by Latino newcomers are less likely to trust Congress and the federal government. This research also finds that non-Hispanic whites who cite immigration as the most important issue facing the country, or who cite immigration as the most important issue to them personally, are less likely to trust Congress and the federal government. We argue this occurs because of rural white Americans' displeasure with the federal government to take action on this issue. The results also show that importance of immigration as an issue and perception of racial threat have no significant influence on levels of trust in state and local governments, indicating that rural residents may not necessarily be looking to these levels of government to address the issue, unless prompted by policy entrepreneurs.