Americans are living more densely and consuming more efficiently, but on the downside, you have probably noticed that traffic is getting worse, crowds are becoming more ubiquitous, resources are more strained, wildlife is more at risk, and our collective consumption of most resources continues to climb. Why? Simple: there are more of us. Most people understand that intuitively.
What many people don't realize - but you do - is that Congress is largely responsible for our situation by setting immigration numbers at a level so high that it is the sole long-term source of U.S. population growth. If it feels like we're running in place, that's because Congress has put us on a treadmill. We're putting in the work but we aren't reaching our desired destination.
We don't notice these things on a daily basis, but if you've spent a number of years in a place, you can probably recognize that the slow, steady change has had significant consequences.
The details vary from state to state, and county to county, but most of us have a common story. In the video above, you can see Colorado's. Here is Arizona's:
The Southwest is a good case study for what happens to a place as it is being loved to death. Listen to NumbersUSA's Scientific Director Leon Kolankiewicz here, here, and here). Or watch Dave Lovejoy respond to Kolankiewicz and our latest study by saying "this changes the perspective" on the immigration debate in the clip below.
Every region feels the impact of Congressional immigration-driven population growth, whether it is water woes in the West, creeping megalopolis' in the East, or the conversions of wild spaces into farms in the Midwest to help feed the growing nation and, indeed, the world. But when was the last time you heard a politician talk about immigration policy in any of those contexts? It's time that they start.
JEREMY BECK is a V.P., Deputy Director for NumbersUSA
