More than any other issue, Donald Trump’s stance on immigration will have the biggest impact on post-2016 national politics. His opposition to immigration is his signature and most consistent opinion during the entire campaign. Trump’s rise was fueled by nativism — from his early statements on Mexican rapists to his first position paper to his current campaign. Similarly, his likely defeat in November will be due to the limited electoral appeal of Know-Nothingism — opening the way for more liberal immigration laws.
Trump’s nativism and his way of expressing it powered his rise. The anti-immigration opinion of Republican primary voters was the best predictor of their individual support for Trump. Ann Coulter said, “Americans have been begging their own party to shut it down, to stop this endless immigration for decades.” Even the anti-Trump editors of the National Review wrote that “His signature issue is concern over immigration … He has exploited the yawning gap between elite opinion in both parties and the public on the issue.”
