This paper addresses the link between native attitudes and return migration. We exploit the variation in xenophobia using information on media consumption by migrants in Italy. A widely documented crime provides a quasi‐experimental setting to identify the impact of Italian attitudes on migrants’ settlement intentions. Our results suggest a significant effect of anti‐immigrant attitudes on the intended duration of stay in the host country. The impact is more pronounced for low‐skilled migrants, which has consequences for how migration affects the long‐run convergence between sending and destination countries.