Experts know more about immigration than ever, but politically they seem to matter less than ever. Nearly three-quarters of Americans call immigration a good thing for the country, yet restrictionist politics keeps winning. Voters' prejudice and populist misinformation leave too much unexplained. I argue that experts are partly to blame: we misread the public and oversold our evidence of immigration's benefits. Drawing on a decade of my own and my colleagues' research, I argue that public distrust is largely earned. Trust can return only when experts become trustworthy again: taking voter concerns seriously, leveling with the public about immigration's costs, and building policies whose benefits people can see. Citizens must hold experts to that standard without handing their trust to populists who care little about the truth. With trillions in unrealized gains at stake, this repair cannot wait.
