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To understand how public perceptions toward out-groups such as immigrants develop, it is useful to explore how interaction with out-groups can affect attitudes which may reflect public opinion toward immigration. Recent research suggests that views on immigration policy are influenced not only by racial prejudice, but also by the racial construction of a respondent's area of residence. To build on this work, we analyze the impact of an individual's perceived interaction with diverse groups on their attitudes toward immigration. We use respondent's estimates of the proportions of minorities in the neighborhood instead of the government's estimates of minority presence measured through census data to test the potential differences. Specifically, we assess the significance of Fezter's theory that (strong social ties) romantic relationships and (weak social ties) community interaction will impact attitudes differently (2000). Using quantitative analysis of previously collected survey data we analyze the impact that the inclusion of contact measures has on attitudes as well as how this shifts the impact of other previously significant factors such as demographic, economic and political characteristics. Our findings show how community-level interaction with diverse groups encourages support for immigration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]