The Rising Popularity of Increasing Immigration

The most fascinating phenomena of American politics is the increasingly anti-immigration opinions of politicians like Donald Trump that contrasts with an increasingly pro-immigrant public opinion.  Gallup has asked the same poll question on immigration since 1965: “In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased?”  Gallup’s question does not separate legal from illegal immigration, likely meaning that answers to this question undercount support for increasing legal immigration.  They recently released their2018 poll results.   The support for increasing legal immigration is at 28 percent – the highest point ever (Figure 1).  Support for increasing immigration is just one point below support for decreasing immigration – well within the 3-point margin of error (95% CI). Figure 1Gallup: Should Immigration Be Kept at Its Present Level, Increased, or Decreased?GallupSources: Gallup.The Gallup trend is the clearest and best for those of us who support increasing immigration but the General Social Survey shows a similar directional trend – although not nearly so dramatic (Figure 2).Figure 2GSS: Should Immigration Be Kept at Its Present Level, Increased, or Decreased?GSSSource: General Social Survey.If the public is increasingly pro-immigration, why is the GOP so opposed to immigration?   It can’t be radically divergent opinions across partisan lines. According to theGallup poll, 65 percent of Republicans think immigration i...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs