, Columnist
How Trump Moved the Needle on Immigration Limits
Only five years ago, few politicians were objecting to the numbers of legal migrants.
New citizens, 2017.
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President Donald Trump wants a significant reduction in legal immigration. That’s the most contentious condition he has laid down for providing an amnesty to 1.8 million illegal immigrants who came here as minors. He is not likely to get what he wants. But he is nonetheless enjoying great success in changing the immigration debate.
The best argument for an immigration slowdown is that immigrants would probably assimilate faster if there were fewer of them, and particularly if there were fewer low-skilled ones. The best argument for coupling a change to legal immigration and an amnesty is that the amnesty would otherwise raise legal immigration: Those 1.8 million newly legal immigrants would begin to sponsor relatives.