Assessing the Relationship between Neoliberal Ideology and Reactions to Central American Asylum Seekers in the United States

According to the United Nations, there are approximately 22.5 million refugees in the world and this number is expected to grow due to war and environmental catastrophe. Additionally, contemporary U.S. society is marked by neoliberal ideology, increasingly coupled with nationalist discourses and policies. Noting the current U.S. sociopolitical context, there is great incentive to study how internalization of neoliberal ideology relates to engagement in efforts to support the rights of refugees. In the current study, we examine the relationships between internalized neoliberal ideology, moral exclusion of people seeking asylum from Central America, levels of ethnocentrism, and willingness to engage in efforts to support the human rights of asylum seekers. Participants (N = 270) were recruited through Prolific Academic and responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings illustrate a strong connection between endorsement of neoliberal ideology and the moral exclusion of Central American asylum seekers, as well as lower levels of willingness to engage in efforts to support the rights of asylum seekers and higher levels of ethnocentrism. Policy implications are discussed.