Immigrant Narratives Promote Inclusionary Attitudes Towards Immigration in a Middle-Income Country

Abstract As the number of immigrants into middle-income countries continues to rise, so do concerns about host nations’ increasing anti-immigration responses. Existing studies in high-income countries present promising pathways to promote immigrant inclusion. In particular, exposing host-nation members to immigrant personal narratives increases positive feelings towards immigrants and support for inclusionary policies. We assess whether, in a middle-income country where immigration’s economic impact is salient to host-nation members, immigrant narratives need to address this impact so that they can influence attitudes. Meta-analysis estimates from three survey experiments in Colombia conducted between 2021 and 2023 suggest that narrative-based interventions need not engage with economic concerns to promote positive affect towards immigrants, but when they address economic concerns they can also increase support for open immigration policies. Given that these narratives also reduce economic concerns, we find that the conditions for inclusionary interventions to be most effective are nuanced in middle-income migrant destinations.