Large multiracial survey provides insights into US attitudes on birthright citizenship

Using data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS) (available from RCMD), Lajevardi and Merolla examined American views on banning birthright citizenship. Conducted from April to August 2021, the CMPS surveyed 17,545 respondents, focusing on their attitudes about the 2020 presidential election, candidate preference, and policies like banning birthright citizenship, or streamlining the immigration process. The CMPS is unusual in that it is a national survey containing large and generalizable samples of racial, ethnic, and other identity groups. This made it possible for Lajevardi and Merolla to focus their investigation on four major racial subgroups: White, Latino, Black, and Asian communities. While most of the 15,813 respondents in their analytic sample supported birthright citizenship, a sizable number wanted to end it. The authors provided a nuanced analysis of the factors associated with the subgroups’ shared views and differences around immigration and citizenship, and whether they were associated with support for Donald Trump in 2020. See more publications using the 2020 CMPS, or using another study in the CMPS series.

September 18, 2025