[GordonS]

> not immigrant averse like Japan and not an island

As the past 4 years have demonstrated, there is a very large segment of the US population is very much against immigration, and would happily turn the country into an "island" by building walls around the land borders.

[_-david-_]

That is not really the case. The last poll I saw said 78% of Americans are fine with some immigration.

The exact amount of immigrants and the requirements to come here legally is less uniform in acceptance.

The biggest issue is between legal and illegal immigration.

[tzs]

That 78% breaks down to something like 90% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 60% of Republicans.

Among the Republicans, the 40% who are anti-immigration tend to feel very strongly about it, and are likely to consider it a major issue. The 60% of Republicans who are OK with immigration are less likely to consider it a major issue.

This makes it hard nowadays to get Republican support in the House for pro-immigration policies, because a pro-immigration Republican member of the House will attract anti-immigration primary challengers who will get the vote of the 40% who are anti-immigration. With that big bloc in hand its hard for the challenger to lose.

You can see a similar thing with abortion. About 60% of Republicans favor keeping Roe v. Wade, about 30% want to overturn it, and the rest are unsure [1]. But how many Republican members of Congress will come out or vote in favor of keeping Roe v. Wade? Pretty close to zero because doing so is political suicide in their next election.

[1] https://www.npr.org/2019/06/07/730183531/poll-majority-want-...

[andonisus]

The US still allows, and has been allowing over the past four years, people to immigrate.

[frockington1]

Compared to other nations, the US has the least restrictive immigration laws. The US also benefits by bordering Canada with some of the most restrictive immigration laws. If you want to go where there is growth, there's no other option

[ardy42]

> Compared to other nations, the US has the least restrictive immigration laws. The US also benefits by bordering Canada with some of the most restrictive immigration laws. If you want to go where there is growth, there's no other option

I thought Canada was far easier. I knew a software engineer who, about 15 years ago, got the Canadian equivalent of a green card as a "backup" without ever having actually lived there, in case she had problems with her US immigration. It sounded like a box ticking exercise, though this person had two masters degrees (IIRC, the second was to keep her status since she graduated from the first into a recession).

[smooth_remmy]

Canada is easier for legal immigrants, and much harder for illegal immigrants.

If you try to illegally immigrate into Canada, they will deport you

[unicornfinder]

Surely you jest? The UK, Canada, Australia are all far easier to immigrate into as a skilled worker.

[ChuckNorris89]

You're right. Though, the tough US immigration laws ensure they only allow in the crem of the crop or the most dedicated illegal immigrants.

[websites222]

The last four years can’t really be compared to the last 2000 of Japan’s. Immigration is already ingrained in American culture. The aging boomers will die and be replaced by the most ethnically diverse generation in American history.

[tjs8rj]

It's disingenuous to cast immigration concerns like an "aging boomer thing". The vast majority of Americans are fine with vetted, legal immigration. According to Pew, nearly 80% worry about illegal immigration "At least a little" to "A great deal". Furthermore there are real concerns, costs, and benefits to be weighed with immigration of all kind (legal and not), and dismissing them is just naive.

To list a few different people find concerning: depressing wages of domestic population, rapid cultural change of domestic population, brain drain from foreign population, strain on tax / social systems, ineffective vetting allowing cross-border contraband and criminal activity, and so on.

All of these are valid and deserve scrutiny and investigation. Obviously there are many beneficial aspects to immigration, and nearly all examples of very successful civilizations in history were at a crossroads of many cultures. Just wanted to make it clear that the immigration debate won't "die with boomers", and it shouldn't, because it is an important discussion to have.

[WalterSear]

Large in number, yes, but not in proportion to the total population.

Moreover, mostly in the places where productivity is not happening. Their growing irrelevance and sociocultural aversion to change are primary reasons for their vocality.

[imtringued]

There was an article about this on HN. The perception of polarization is greater than reality. The overlap between republicans and democrats is pretty high. Most of them are only moderately against or in favor of migration.

[aaomidi]

Good thing is that segment of population is:

1. Dying out.

2. Not in places immigrants want to immigrate to.

[ardy42]

> 2. Not in places immigrants want to immigrate to.

There's reason to doubt that. A lot of Trump's support was rural, and a lot of immigrants are farm laborers.

[WalterSear]

Farm laborers perform an essential role, but it isn't one that is driving US economy.