Moderate Quietly, Not With Speeches

Research showing that center‑left rhetorical convergence on immigration backfires is really about salience: loud pivots hand agenda‑setting to the right and alienate parts of the left. Moderation can still work when done via low‑profile policy shifts and by keeping attention off the opponent‑owned issue—akin to Trump’s low‑salience abortion moderation after Dobbs. — It offers a concrete strategy for parties to adjust to public opinion without triggering salience traps, reshaping campaign messaging and governance on immigration.