Why should we stabilize the U.S. population?

The 2000 Census showed that as of April 1, 2000, the U.S. had 281.4 million people, an increase of 33 million people just in the last decade. If this U.S. population growth trend continues — within the lifetimes of today's children — this country will have half of China's current population! That is, if growth persists at a 13 percent rate per decade as it did from 1990 to 2000, the U.S. will have 666 million people in 2070 (China now has 1.3 billion).

As of January 1, 2001, the U.S. population reached 283 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's estimates. Because the average U.S. resident consumes at least 25 times more than their counterpart abroad, the U.S. has done more damage to the world's environment than China and India combined! Paul Ehrlich has called the United States “the most overpopulated country.”

In addition, the more people we have, the more pressure we put on the environment, infrastructure and social fabric: People drive, consume energy and need housing, education and many other social services. Due to a variety of factors, most recent immigrants have come from over 100 countries and are not assimilating. Do we really want to leave today's children an overpopulated, Divided States of America?

Is it a real possibility that the U.S. could ever become as crowded as China?

The U.S. population almost quadrupled its population in the past century: from 75 million in 1900 to 283 million in 2001. This despite a time-out from mass immigration between 1925 to 1965 during which the average immigration level was less than 200,000 per year. However, from 1990 to 2000, the average immigration rate was 1.2 million people annually. Even so, immigration advocates are continuously pushing legislation to increase immigration. If the U.S. quadruples its population one more time in this century, this country will have over one billion people (283 million x 4).

In addition, the inconceivable just a few decades ago has become reality. For example, in the 1940's, when Los Angeles County was mostly farm land, few Californians could imagine that within less than 40 years that area could become so highly congested. Presently, large numbers of immigrants from many countries have settled in the Midwest. Detroit, for example, has one of the largest concentrations of Arabs outside the Middle East. Also, the Census Bureau reported that in 1998 Arkansas was leading the nation in percentage of growth of Hispanic population. Currently, schoolchildren in North Carolina speak 170 languages!

How does mass immigration contribute to the U.S. population growth?

Since 1987, legal immigration has averaged about 1 million a year. According to conservative estimates, about 400,000 illegal immigrants enter the U.S. annually. An analysis of Census data by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that nearly 70 percent of the population growth between 1990 to 2000 was immigration-related. Our federal government also grants many categories of “temporary” working visas to foreign-born professionals and most of them stay permanently in the U.S.


We are a nation of immigrants. How can we support immigration reduction?

If responsible parents limit their family sizes so that they can better care for their existing children, shouldn't America stabilize its population so that it can better provide for its existing legal residents? In addition, circumstances in this country have changed. The United States is still the greatest debtor nation on Earth, while some 39 million Americans of diverse racial backgrounds still live in poverty. Why don't we give those Americans first the opportunity to live the American Dream?
Also, according to Cornell University Professor David Pimental, if the U.S. continues to lose farm land at its current rates, by 2040, this country will not be able to export food. If the U.S. population growth continues, from which countries should we import food to feed our growing population?