Each year the United States admits a little over 1 million immigrants. Is that too many? Opponents of immigration say it is.
The notion of “virtually unlimited” migration is largely a specter of Trump’s making. Family members are not automatically allowed to join a relative in the United States. There’s a backlog of applications; the wait in some cases is up to 20 years.
The stated objections to immigration are often that immigrants take jobs away from native-born U.S. citizens, that they put a strain on government services and the economy, that they increase crime, and that they overturn the norms of U.S. culture.
These concerns have been given consideration and scrutinized, and in each case, there is ample evidence that they aren’t valid.
People’s views on immigration might not be connected to data-based assessment of costs and benefits. They might be rooted in a general uneasiness about cultural change and the challenge of living beside people who are different.
When we talk about the immigration rate, we're really talking about our most fundamental fears and beliefs. Those these instinctual reactions aren't unpredictable, they do not necessarily make for wise public policy.
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