A RACE TO THE TOP — Defensive Naturalization as a Means of Political & Social Integration in an Era of Polarized Immigration Policy in the United States

The anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric weaponized by Donald J.

Trump, both during his 2016 presidential campaign and while

serving in office as the forty-fifth President of the United States,

catalyzed a period of defensive citizenship. While the Trump

administration’s hardline policies and hostile messaging regarding

immigration ultimately prompted citizenship-eligible applicants to

formally naturalize in uncharacteristically high numbers, many of

those who naturalized from 2016 to 2020 did so through fear of

shifting governmental policies that they believed could negatively

affect their immigration statuses. Given that fear served as the

Trump administration’s primary vehicle in defining its immigration

messaging, it may have swayed those who naturalized during that

period to develop anti-U.S. sentiment. Thus, residual anti-U.S.

sentiment within the immigrant community may limit or hinder

long-term political and social integration within this group.

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