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            US Immigration Policy Likely to Boost Population,  an article by Joseph Chamie, originally appeared on YaleGlobal on July 30, 2009.  While we realize it is slightly dated, the message it contains is so vitally important to the efforts of NPG that we wish to expose these ideas to as wide an audience as possible.

            Rarely do we hear anyone in a position of authority making the connection between US immigration policy and our nation’s extraordinary population growth.  Joseph Chamie, former director of the United Nations Population Division and the current director of research at the Center for Migration Studies, makes his point early in the article, and with a very clear voice:  “Contrary to popular thought, the dominant force fueling America’s demographic growth is not natural increase, but immigration.”  Chamie continues to comment on the creation of “various commissions to comprehensively address the future size of America’s population” and how each of these entities “concluded that in the long run, no substantial benefits would result from further growth of the nation’s population.”  The question, then, must be asked:  Why aren’t our current national leaders heeding the advise of previous administrations and working to achieve a smaller U.S. population?  This idea becomes vitally important as the 111th Congress begins to debate immigration reform:  if they make the wrong decisions, US population, already exceeding a sustainable level, will continue to grow.

            Statistics show that U.S. population growth would have stabilized in about 1970 if it were not for the tremendous number of immigrants entering our country after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.  To make matters even worse, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the vast majority of our future population growth will be driven by immigration.  In order to halt and eventually reverse our population growth, we absolutely must reduce our current immigration rates.

            Chamie also touches on a topic that receives little attention, but is certainly deserving of it.  The US, often viewed as a leader in many disciplines, should provide an example as to how a nation could stabilize its growth.  “Without US leadership as demonstrated by domestic efforts to stabilize its population and thereby mitigate further damage to the environment, other nations would be reluctant to adopt policies and practices to stabilize their populations and work toward developmental and ecological sustainability,” Chamie writes.

            NPG heartily applauds Joseph Chamie for his excellent article, and we encourage all NPG members and supporters to read it as the Obama administration begins to debate what may be the most crucial issue Congress has faced in its 200-plus year existence.