FEATURED STORIES

What Would Reagan Do?
Bonds for the Chesapeake Bay?
Why Isn't DHS Tracking America's Visitors?


COMMENTARY: by NPG President Donald Mann

As the 110th Congress gets down to business this week it is very disheartening that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not included immigration reform as one of the priority issues that members will focus on in the next few months. The fact is that every day this issue goes unaddressed -- and is put farther back on the Congressional calendar – countless illegal aliens continue to slip into our country undetected. Considering all the talk of "amnesty" and potential U.S. citizenship for illegals that dominated last years' debate, it only makes sense that the flow of illegal immigrants is increasing rather than abating. After all, U.S. citizenship is one of the greatest prizes anyone could ever win and the street smart lawbreaker will do everything possible in the coming months to make sure he or she is safely within our borders before the America's new immigration rules are written.

It is absolutely shocking that as a nation we are moving at a glacier pace in addressing the flood of illegal immigrants which only compounds so many of our country's other critical problems – health care, Social Security, pollution, etc. We must remember that the steps Congress finally did take in 2006 -- committing to building 700 miles of border fence, adding thousands of border guards, and creating new facilities for detaining illegals at the border -- are a long way from being implemented. The border fence will take years to build (if it ever sees the light of day). It will take months, if not years, to recruit and train new border guards and put them in place. And construction of more detainee facilities will not happen overnight.

Sadly, many politicians in Washington, along with the open border lobby, are in no rush to see this issue come to the floor anytime soon. What is most disheartening is that some political pundits expect that Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will put off consideration of immigration reform well into 2008.

Here at NPG, we are not about to stand around and let this issue be moved off the front pages. Polls show that illegal immigration is still a top concern of the voters and we will work even harder to educate the American public about the disastrous consequences of adding tens of millions of new immigrants to our nation's population. In all of NPG's 35 years no single legislative issue has been more important than getting Congress to fully secure our borders and pass strong and strict immigration laws that do not irreparably harm our nation – especially to the quality of life for future generations. We urge you to stand by our side and continue to help us win this critical battle.


WHAT WOULD REAGAN DO?

The death of former President Ford gave America a chance to look back on itself some thirty years ago and take a measure of tough decisions made in what were surely different times. Quite often in recent days the question has been asked: Do Presidential actions of the past have any lessons for us today?

In mid-December, former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese addressed that same question in an article he wrote for Human Events that focused on how President Reagan handled the growing immigration problem. In short, Meese related how today?s immigration problems are not much different than the mid-80's. In backing the Simpson-Mazzoli Bill of 1986, President Reagan supported legislation that included many similar provisions as those contained in the "Comprehensive Reform Act of 2006" which passed the U.S. Senate last May – including amnesty and eventual citizenship. However, as Meese noted: "The difference is that President Reagan called it for what it was."

The 1986 legislation was supposed to solve the problem. Yet as Meese reflects: "The lesson from the 1986 experience is that such an amnesty did not solve the problem. There was extensive document fraud, and the number of people applying for amnesty far exceeded projections. And there was a failure of political will to enforce new laws against employers. After a brief slowdown, illegal immigration returned to high levels and continued unabated, forming the nucleus of today's large population of illegal aliens."

In answering the question, "What would President Reagan do?" to solve today's immigration crisis, the former Cabinet member concludes: "For one thing, he would not repeat the mistakes of the past, including those of his own administration. He knew that secure borders are vital, and would now insist on meeting that priority first. He would seek to strengthen the enforcement of existing immigration laws. He would employ new tools – like biometric technology for identification and cameras, sensors and satellites to monitor the border – that make enforcement and verification less onerous and more effective."

The old adage that "those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it" fits our current times. President George W. Bush would do well to learn from the mistakes of the past, stop trying to use immigration reform to win future votes for his Party, demand that all current immigration laws be enforced, and put forth strong, sensible immigration reform legislation that puts the best interests of our nation first. Click on the link above for the full-story.


BONDS FOR THE CHESAPEAKE BAY?

It's a perennial question that has dogged the Governors of Maryland and Virginia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia for years: Where is the money going to come from to clean up the Chesapeake Bay?

If Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia has his way, a good part of his state's financial contribution will come from some $250 million in bonds that he wants the General Assembly to approve this year.

Kaine is looking to gain the extra money to combine with $300 million in already appropriated funds. That way the state can dedicate $550 million to upgrade as many as 89 wastewater treatment plants throughout the state. The goal is to reduce nutrient and nitrogen runoff that is destroying the bay's delicate ecosystem. The 200-mile long Chesapeake Bay is the largest of 130 estuaries in the U.S. It supports 3,600 species of plants, animals and fish and is home to 29 species of waterfowl.

The Governor's forward-looking idea has been met with much praise. However, it is still very much up in the air as to whether or not it will become a reality. The question of Bay bonds is sure to get very tangled up with a push for new transportation bonds to finance much-needed road construction in one of the country's fastest-growing states. Besides stressing the outdated sewer treatment facilities, Virginia's exploding population is putting severe pressure on the politicians to build more roads -- and the money simply isn't there to meet the need. Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter, who opposes raising taxes was quoted in the Washington Post as supporting borrowing money to meet today's needs: "Today, projects are fairly cheap; we can lock in some projects at low interest rates. It is kind of like buying a home at the right time."

While the political battle for funding a bay cleanup vs. road building is sure to be fierce, the central issue has not yet been mentioned. If population growth is allowed to continue, the problems we see now will only worsen as an increasing population adds to the pollution that ultimately drains into the Bay. Efforts to reduce Bay pollution to an acceptable level will prove futile unless the leaders in these areas first address increasing numbers of people and implement policies that would slow, halt, and eventually reverse population growth. Click on the link above for the full-story.


WHY ISN'T DHS TRACKING AMERICA'S VISITORS?

U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein is ready to hold the Department of Homeland Security's feet to the fire on a very good question: What's behind the DHS decision to suspend efforts to implement the U.S. VISIT exit system at land borders?

The new incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism announced in mid-December that she will hold hearings on the issue very soon in the hopes of revealing the rationale for abandoning this program that is so essential to tracking visitors.

Stressing that it is crucial for us to determine who is entering and exiting our country, Feinstein has some very key questions regarding what has happened to the money invested in this program and why can't it be implemented – especially at the nation's 50 busiest land border crossings. The Senator's press release noted: "This program is central to protecting our national security. Billions of dollars and countless hours have been invested, and if the DHS is going to throw this all away, the American people deserve to know why." And the Senator rightfully concluded: "we create a gaping hole that potential terrorists can exploit." To read the entire press release click on this story above.


POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION NEWS NOTES

U.S. ENDS 2006 WITH POPULATION OF 300.9 MILLION

The U.S. will enter 2007 with a population of 300,888,812 up 2,863,990 – or 1% -- from the population on New Year's Day January 1, 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Starting this January our country is expected to register one birth every 8 seconds and one death every 11 seconds. The Bureau figures on net international migration adding one person to our population every 27 seconds for a final result of an increase in the total population of one person every 15 seconds.

ARIZONA PASSES NEVADA AS FASTEST GROWING STATE

Arizona proved to be the fastest-growing state during that same period. Its population rose 3.6 % while Nevada now ranks second with a 3.5% growth rate.

The five top population gainers for July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006 were as follows:


Texas + 579,275
Florida + 321,697
California + 303,402
Georgia + 231,388
Arizona + 213,311

Other highlights:

North Carolina replaced New Jersey as the 10th most populous state.

The South now accounts for 36 percent of the nation's total population, with the West comprising 23 percent, the Midwest 22 percent and the Northeast 18 percent.


QUOTABLE

The raid..."shows the weakness of the current system, the ways that workers have been able to find employment in the legitimate economy, and the need for enforcement efforts to focus on the work site and not just the border."

Deborah Myers, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a non partisan think tank in Washington, DC, commenting on the raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on plants owned by Swift and Co. in mid-December.


WHY THE NPG JOURNAL?

The NPG Journal (offered free to all recipients) exists to give more widespread distribution to timely news stories and articles related to population, immigration, environmental and political issues that currently affect our daily life -- or have the potential to seriously impact our future. NPG President Donald Mann offer his personal insight and commentary on individual stories, especially those that challenge, confirm and/or complement our NPG Research and Forum Papers. The goal of the NPG Journal is to greatly expand NPG?s educational mission. As NPG celebrates its 35th Anniversary we continue to emphasize the need for Americans to speak up on population issues and keep our nation -- especially our elected leaders on the national, state and local level – focused on taking action to help resolve today's immigration crisis and work to halt, and eventually reverse America's out-of-control population growth.

We welcome your feedback to articles posted on the NPG Journal and urge you to forward us the e-mail address of friends you think would like to receive a complimentary copy of the NPG Journal on a bi-weekly basis. Contact us at npg@npg.org.


ABOUT NPG

Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG) is a national nonprofit membership organization with over 30,000 members nationwide. It was founded in 1972 to educate the American public and political leaders about the devastating effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources, and standard of living. We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment.