After looking at the Gallup chart above, it’s hard to dispute that the average person responding a survey today is more likely to indicate their support for expanding immigration than perhaps ever before.
However, both experts and immigration proponents have frequently misunderstood the meaningfulness of these shifts. Even if one concedes that pro-immigration sentiments are on the rise (which some may dispute), these opinions may still have less political sway due to the difference in the perceived issue importance and its recent rise among anti-immigration voters in particular.