how do you move photos from imports to photos on mac?

You don’t need to move them. The Import list is really only list of stuff you’ve imported so you can reference them later. Everything is you import will also be included in the Photos section.

So why are there both a Photos and and Imports section? Because if you use iCloud Photos and take pictures with your iPhone or iPad, those photos will be included in the Photos section but not in the Imports section as they are not considered to be imported. Only photos that you manually import/drag into the Mac Photos app will be considered “imported.” Even photos saved to your iPhone Photos library from the web or email attachments won’t be considered imported even though the same action on Mac would.

Similarly, if you duplicate a photo in your library to make edits separate from the original, it will show in the main Photos section but not the Imports section.

HTH

Are you asking about the "Imports" album in the sidebar? The Photos in the Imports album have already been imported to Photos. They are shown in the order they have been imported, the most recently imported photos at the bottom of the album. If you ctrl-click one of the photos and use the command "Show in All Photos";(Or "Show in Moments", depending on the system version) you should be seeing them there in the All Photos album or the Moments.

Or are you asking about the photos that are shown, when importing from a card of iPhone? If you have a device with photos connected and click this device in the Photos sidebar, you are seeing an Imports panel, where you should select the photos you want to import, then click the button "Import Selected" or "Import all new photos". Then wait, until Photos displays message, that the photos have been imported.