by Teela Roche
 

Here's the question we Americans should be asking ourselves: Do we want the U.S. to have the population of a Third World country?  That's where we're headed.  Our population growth rate in the 1990's was equal to that of India.  The U.S. Census Bureau tells us that our population will reach 400 million by 2050, double what it was on the first Earth Day in 1970.  Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this looming problem, chiefly because it has become taboo to state the reason why -- immigration.

Recently, in an op ed piece, an immigration reform ad campaign being run in South Carolina was criticized by the writer as being "distorted" and "racist."  This is an unfair characterization of the ad campaign and the groups involved.  Among the groups sponsoring ads was the Federation for American Immigration Reform.  As a grassroots member of FAIR for many years, I can attest that it is an ethnically diverse group comprised of ordinary, everyday Americans who are concerned about the quality of life we are leaving to our children.  As for the statistics, they come straight from U.S. government data.

The chief concerns of FAIR are to raise public awareness of immigration as a political issue and galvanize Congress to correct a mistake that it made in 1965, which set us on our present course.  The problem with our present immigration system is the "numbers.".

Here's how the problem arose: In 1965 Congress "fixed something that wasn't broken"-- our immigration system.  They were hoping to create an immigrant stream that was more diverse, without adversely affecting any of the other aspects of immigration.  But, things did not turn out as they had planned.  At the time, Congress promised two things: that the overall immigration numbers would remain stable at 250,000 per year and that a situation would not arise where any one nationality would dominate the overall immigration picture.  They were wrong on both counts.  America is instead being re-populated and over-populated.

The problem with the law was the creation of preference categories, most notably, the "family ties" category.  Unlike in years past, this new category offered an opportunity for EXTENDED family members to immigrate, not just nuclear family members.   Soon after the law went into effect, "chain migration" began to occur; a kind of pyramid scheme whereby an individual immigrant can essentially "reel in" his family tree.  This caused overall immigration numbers to shoot up dramatically.   By the 1990s, the yearly inflow was 4 times the 1965 numbers with no leveling off in sight.  Another interesting thing happened as well.   Since Mexicans were the first nationality through the door in 1965, they gained dominance over all other immigrant groups.  Today, there are seven times as many Mexican immigrants here in the U. S. as the next highest nationality group (Filipinos).  Instead of broad diversity, we have dominance by one group.

Since 1965, undercurrents of greed and corruption in government and business have ruled immigration policy.  Congress has thereby not corrected its mistake.  For example, the corporate funders of the Republican Party began to realize that they liked the cheap labor that excessive immigration brought.  And powers within the Democratic Party realized it could be used as an important party-building tool.  A goal of enhancing the quality of life in the U.S. has taken a back seat to selfish party interests.  Political parties and some influential business groups have a cavalier attitude toward the effects of unsustainable population growth. The U.S. has for three decades been importing the population overflows from developing nations.  It is no wonder that we are beginning to experience similar problems to these countries, including factionalism, burdens on our school systems and environmental stresses.

Pointing out the problem is easy, but what should we do to resolve it?

Well, since the 1980's various congressmen have tried to correct the numbers problem by introducing legislation in each session of Congress that would reduce the family ties categories and change other aspects of the 1965 law to bring rates back to traditional levels (250,000/year.)  The most recent effort is H.R. 41, introduced by Rep. Bob Stump of Arizona last year.  People should urge their Congressman to sign on to this bill as a co-sponsor so it can get to the floor and be voted on.  They can do this easily and free of charge at www.NumbersUSA.com.  Immigration is going to be the defining issue of our nation's future.  We need to get involved.
 
 

Appeared in Greenville (SC) News  Feb. 25, 2000