Why skilled immigration polls so well

“It is simply remarkable how robust public support for skilled immigration is.” Alexander Kustov takes a look at research on the US and abroad, and points out that despite all the rhetoric, support for skilled immigration remains very high (including on the right). Kustov argues this is because people intuitively grasp the argument that bringing in skilled workers benefits the receiving country. If it’s so obvious though, why do we have so many restrictions on skilled immigration? There are a lot of reasons, but a factor in our current climate is that the vocal minority opposed to skilled immigration (as well as immigration in general) is concentrated on the right, which gives that consituency disproportionate influence when the right is in power. Meanwhile, the left has tended to focus more on the humanitarian case for immigration, leaving the pragmatic argument for skilled immigration more neglected.