Replication Data for: Multidimensional Constructions of Target Groups and Their Political Implications: The Case of Immigrant (Il)legality

Social construction theory postulates that policy outcomes depend on whether target groups are imagined as deserving or undeserving by the public. However, recent evidence demonstrates that the constructions in question are contentious rather than agreed upon. In this paper, we apply the conjoint-experimental method to measure the social construction of immigrant (il)legality and assess its political implications. We demonstrate that it is multidimensional as absence of legal status is associated with receipt of government benefits, Hispanic origin, police record, poor English fluency, and less education. We also show that while the receipt of government benefits is not associated with the absence of legal status among most respondents, individuals who hold this association support stricter immigration enforcement policies. Our findings corroborate the social construction approach but also indicate that researchers may want to measure multiple dimensions of target group constructions in addition to deservingness.