April 4, 2008
82 Percent of Expected Increase Will Be Attributable to Immigration
Today, the U.S. population has passed 300 million and that growth is projected to accelerate as a consequence of ongoing mass immigration. In February, the Pew Research Center estimated that our population will reach 438 million people by mid-century, and that 82 percent of that increase will be a direct result of immigration. The Pew findings are consistent with FAIRs own projections, published in 2006, that see U.S. population increasing to 445 million in 2050 or even higher if amnesty is again adopted and our immigration door is opened wider.
Over the next 42 years, the foreign born population of the U.S. would increase from 36 million to 81 million, finds the Pew study. As a percentage of the total population, immigrants will increase from 12 percent today to 19 percent by 2050, surpassing levels set at the start of the 20th century. The Pew projections do not take into account the possible impact of a mass amnesty for current illegal aliens enabling them to petition for millions of relatives still residing outside the U.S. to join them.
Even as the nation faces the most massive increase in population in its history, there is no attention being paid by policy makers to the likely consequences. Unlike the rapid population growth that resulted from the baby boom of the mid-20th century, the looming massive population increase of the next four decades is purely discretionary and controllable.
The population growth projected by Pew and by FAIRs 2006 study represents the equivalent of the current population of Japan. In FAIRs view, responsible public policy demands that such a massive program of population growth be carefully evaluated. The American public has a right to know the likely consequences of an additional 137 million people on the nations environment, resource base, economy, culture, national cohesion and other factors critical to our future.
It is important to consider that only 18 percent of the projected population increase will likely result from the replacement population. The remainder of that growth will result from our own governments refusal to establish and enforce immigration laws in the public interest.
Since its inception, FAIR has consistently called for a responsible assessment of the potential impact of our nations immigration policies on future generations of Americans. In light of the latest projections of the Pew Research Center, FAIR is renewing its call for a carefully considered population policy for the United States.
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SOURCE:FAIR
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest.
