Pew Hispanic released a new poll on immigration that shows some troubling opinions on legal immigration. The survey found that 31 percent of those polled think legal immigration should decrease and 39 percent believe immigration levels should remain unchanged. Only 24 percent think the U.S. needs more legal immigration.

The 24 percent of respondents that favors more legal immigration understand that good immigration policy is good economic policy. As AAF has shown, benchmark immigration reform that increases the number of legal immigrants and temporary workers would be good for the economy, raising the pace of economic growth by almost one percent, increasing GDP per capita by $1500, and reducing the federal deficit by over $2.5 trillion.

The 70 percent of people who want to leave legal immigration unchanged or reduce it hold a dangerously anti-growth opinion. In the absence of additional immigration, the U.S. economy will contract. The American fertility rate is too low to replace our current population. Immigrants are both a short-term and long-term solution—they can immediately bolster the labor force and tend to have higher fertility rates than native born Americans. Immigrants have other economic benefits as well, including higher rates of entrepreneurship and labor force participation.

Legal immigration should be embraced as a pro-growth policy. Reducing it will be disastrous for the economy.