Quick facts on population and immigration

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Here are quick facts on mass immigration and population growth in the United States. (Updated 2007).

The Census Bureau projects that U.S. population will double this century, practically within the lifetimes of children born today. 70% of this doubling will be due to mass immigration - that is, due to new immigrants and their descendents.

Colorado currently has 4.3 million residents and is the third-fastest growing state in the U.S. Colorado is suffering from overcrowded schools, and traffic, congestion, smog, and sprawl. Every hour, ten acres of our farmland and open space are lost to development.

  • Immigration from 1925 to 1965 averaged 178,000 per year. Now, we're taking in approximately 1.1 million legal immigrants and up to 700,000 illegal aliens annually3.
  • Under current policy, U.S. population will double this century - practically within the lifetimes of today's children - and will continue to grow2.
  • In 1995, only 5% of legal immigrants were skilled workers.
  • 72% of Black Americans want immigration reduction.
  • 1.3 million acres, an area the size of Delaware, are being black topped each year.
  • Immigration made sense when we were an empty continent, not now when the ecological carrying capacity of the U.S. is being stretch to its limit5.
  • Immigrants accounted for more than 45 percent of the growth in Colorado's population in the past two years1. An estimated 33.1 million immigrants now live in the United States, about 11.5 percent of the total population, according to the report's figures, based on still-unreleased U.S. Census Bureau data collected in March 20022.
     
    In Colorado, the number of immigrants has grown from 8.6 percent of the population two years ago to just under 10 percent now. Of the 165,000 residents new to Colorado between April 2000 and March 2002, 75,000 were born outside the United States, according to Center for Immigration Studies7.
     
    Almost 52 percent of immigrant families earn less than two times the official poverty level, while that rate among U.S.-born households is 21.6 percent. Nearly 20 percent of immigrant-headed households in Colorado receive some form of welfare benefit.6
  • A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies concludes that over 33 million legal immigrants and illegal aliens now live in the United States, an increase of 2 million immigrants since the recent April 2000 Census7. How significant is an increate of 33 million people?
    • 33 million is larger than the current population of Canada.
    • 33 million is the combined populations of the 20 largest cities in the U.S in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas, San Antonio, Detroit, San Jose, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Columbus, Austin, Baltimore, Memphis, and Milwaukee.
    • 33 million people in the U.S. would require over 12 million housing units8, would require 15.8 million more passenger cars9, and would consume about 825 million barrels of oil a year (25 barrels per person per year). 33 million Americans will consume all of the economically recoverable oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in less than four years time.10
    • 33 million people can be expected to consume 2.26 billion cubic feet of roundwood per year (80 cubic feet per person). Over 75 million acres of forest will be needed to supply 33 million people with their paper and wood needs.11
  • Post 1970 immigrants and their descendants have added more than 55 million people to our country; this is the equivalent of absorbing all of Central America in thirty years. Yet Central America's, Mexico's, and China's populations have grown even larger. Clearly, we are not able to address the world's problems by attempting to absorb their excess population.
  • The Population Reference Bureau projects the U.S. will add 140 million people to it population between 2002 and 2050, thus increasing the population of the U.S from 287 million to 420 million12.
  • In 2002, the fertility rate of the U.S. was higher than that of 70 other countries, "including less developed China, Korea and Thailand." Indeed, four other less developed countries also have a fertility rate lower than that of the U.S.: Iran, Cuba, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.
  • Former U.S. Census Bureau demographer Jeffrey Passel (now with the Urban Institute) issued a conservative estimate there are "at least 8.5 million undocumented foreigners in the United States." This means that the population of illegal aliens in the U.S. is larger than the population of any one of the following 41 states: Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Indiana, Washington, Tennessee, Missouri, Wisconsin, Maryland, Arizona, Minnesota, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, Kansas, Arkansas, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, or Wyoming.
  • About 70 percent of the foreign-born population in the U.S. in 2000 entered the U.S. after 1980, and more than 40 percent entered the U.S. after 1990. The Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy discussed in 1980 implementing a cap on immigrant admissions of 425,000 per year. In 1982 the "Bumpers Amendment" to cap legal immigrant admissions at this level was nearly passed by the U.S. Senate.13 Yet it did not pass, in good part because some senators believed the numbers to be still too high and opposed amnesties for illegal aliens. In 1986, however, an amnesty did pass with no cap on legal immigrant admissions. Today legal immigration alone into the U.S. is running at over twice the level called for in the above-mentioned "Bumpers Amendment".
  • Approximately one out of five babies born in the U.S. in 2000 had a foreign-born mother.

More quick facts

Population growth

  • U.S. population will double this century, within the lifetimes of children born today. Leaving such a legacy has been described as a hate crime against future generations.
  • Colorado's State demographer projects Colorado's population to surge to 7 million by 2030. 60,000 will arrive each year, most moving to the Front Range. The fastest-growing areas include the Western Slope and weld County. (Denver Post article, June 19, 2003).
  • Over past 50 years, Colorado's population has tripled in size. In 1950, Colorado had 1.3 million people. In 1980, Colorado;s population was approaching 3 million. Then we added 1 million, about 275 people per day. We now have 4.3 million in 2003.
  • Colorado grew 30% in the 1990's - the third fastest-growing state in the U.S., home to 5 of the nation's 10 fastest-growing counties. Metro Denver grew from 2 million to over 2.4 million in the 1990's.
  • In the 1990's, natural increase (births minus deaths) accounted for 38% of growth, half of growth was from migration from other states, and remainder was due to secondary migration from other countries. 25% of migration into Colorado in the 1990's came from California. Colorado is Projected to add 1 million people next 10-20 years. (Denver Post article, June 19, 2003).

Schools

  • Colorado K-12 enrolment grew by 29% in the 1990's. Colorado's elementary and high school enrollment increased 32% in the 1990's. In the next 10 years, number of students could increase by 100,000 from 790,000 in 2000. We could easily surpass one million students by 2025.
  • Colorado spends $50 million per year educating immigrant children from Mexico alone. This will require 5,000 new teachers to be hired annually and building 20 new schools annually. The Rocky Mountain News reported construction and renovation would cost $165-175 million.
  • State has proposed $500 million in additional funding for rural schools in the southern part of the state. The number of Spanish-speaking only students has increase five-fold in the past 5 years.Non-English speaking students statewide nearly doubled to 16,715 from 1992-1996, and accounted for nearly all enrolment growth in Aurora, Commerce City, Lamar, 74% of the increase in Denver, and 40%-60% of the increase in Leadville and West Yuma.

Traffic

  • 11% of Colorado workers travel more than 40 minutes to work. The commute time likely double by 2025. Denver ranks 5th in the nation for time lost in traffic - estimated at 35 hours per year per commuter. Total cost for this wasted time and fuel is estimated at $1.4 billion each year.
  • The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) projects a need for 2,300 lane-miles over the next 20 years to prevent congestion. Yet their long-range plan accounts for only half of that required growth.

Water

  • Governor's Commission on Saving Open Spaces, Farms, and Ranches found : "Rapid growth, inadequate water supply and extremely dry conditions have left cities thirsty for more water."
  • In 2002 Colorado water shortages forced farmers to cut crop yields by 50% and liquidate 70% of their cattle herds.
  • A June 21, 2003 Rocky Mountain News article, Do or dry for mountain towns, stated: "During next 30 years, nearly two dozen fast-growing communities in Summit and Grand counties will face water shortages as Front Range cities siphon off larger and larger amounts to quench their thirsts..." "This about allocating the last drop", said Dan Luecke, a water expert.
  • "Grand County will quadruple in next 30 to 50 years." And "In Summit County, water use is expected to more than double.
  • Colorado may need up to 500,000 new acre-feet of new water within the next 30 years.

U.S. Immigration

  • Over 1 million legal immigrants, and approximately 700,000 illegal aliens enter into the U.S. each year. That's 80,000 illegal aliens per month. Currently 9 to 11 million illegal aliens in U.S., double 1994 level.
  • Illegal alien population in the U.S. is larger than the populations of any one of a list of 41 U.S. states.
  • A quarter-million illegal aliens from Middle-East countries currently live in the U.S., many now entering across the Arizona-Mexico border.
  • Colorado ranks 11th in illegal migration, with over 45,000 illegal aliens residing in Colorado in 1996.
  • Historically, 178,000 legal per year migrated to the U.S., between 1925-1965. An average of 230,000 legal immigrants per year migrated here between 1776-1976.
  • California has practically doubled in population in the last 35 years. 96% of its growth in the 1990's was due to immigration. California now has 35 million, and is larger than most countries of the world.
  • A recent Center for Immigration studies report shows 33 million legal immigrants and illegal aliens now reside in the U.S. This 33 million is larger than the entire population of Canada. This 33 million is equal to the combined populations of the 20 largest cities in the U.S.
  • Post 1970 immigrants and their descendents have added more than 55 million people to our country - equivalent to absorbing all of Central America, excluding Mexico, in 30 years.
  • Colorado's immigrant stock (immigrants and their descendents) was 19.6% in 1997 - the 13th highest in the country.
  • Colorado's foreign-born increased 160% during the 1990's.

Economic costs

  • 40-50% of wage loss among low-skilled Americans is due to immigration of low-skilled workers.
  • 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs by immigration. The cost for providing welfare and assistance to displaced Americans is over $15 billion/year.
  • The net annual cost of immigration is between $67 and $87 per year.
  • The National Academy of Sciences found the net fiscal drain on American taxpayers is $166-226 per year for each native household. Even studies showing modest economic gain from immigration ($1-10 billion per year) find it is outweighed by the fiscal cost of $15-20 billion per year.
  • Approximately 52% of immigrant families earn less than two times the officil poverty level. Nearly 20% of immigrant-headed households in Colorado receive some form of welfare benefit.

Ski resorts

  • As many as 7,000 illegal aliens work at Colorado ski resorts. In Summit County, approximately 10% are foreign-born.

Drugs

  • 80% of cocaine and 50% of heroin in the U.S. are smuggled across the border by Mexican nationals.
  • Drug cartels spend a half-billion dollars per year bribing corrupt Mexican army and police officials.

Hospitals

  • Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California have been forced to close or face bankruptcy because of providing coverage to illegal aliens.

Anchor babies

  • There are 287,000-363,000 children born to illegal aliens each year.
  • In 1994, California paid for 74,987 deliveries to illegal alien mothers at a total cost of $215.2 million.
  • Illegal alien mothers accounted for 36% of all Medi-Cal funded births in California in 1994.
  • Losses are approximately $79 million in California, $74 million in Texas, $31 million in Arizona, and $6 million in New Mexico.
  • In Colorado, Medicaid paid approximately $30 million in costs for approximately 6,000 illegal alien mothers, 40% of all births paid for by Medicaid in Colorado. These 6,000 anchor babies immediately became U.S. citizens and qualified for full Medicaid services, with a cost yet to be determined.

Prisons

  • Taxpayers pay half a billion dollars per year incarcerating illegal alien criminals. This costs Colorado taxpayers approximately $14 million annually.

Transfer of wealth

  • $60 billion earned by illegal aliens in the U.S. each year.
  • $10 billion are sent back to Mexico annually, equal to the amount Mexico earns from tourism.

Sprawl

  • Denver has the fourth worst sprawl in the nation, according to Fannie Mae Foundation.
  • Housing costs for the elderly have increase to more than 50% of their average income.
  • Colorado workers who make minimum wage must work 124 hours per week in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
  • Approximately 1 acre of open land is lost through urbanization and degradation for each person added to the U.S. - about 3 million people and therefore 3 million acres lost each year.
  • Yet many experts agree on a sustainable population of 150 million in the U.S.
  • In Colorado, every hour, 10 acres of farmland and open space are lost to development.
  • Colorado's population density rose from 32 people per square mile in 1990 to 41 people per square mile in 2000, a 28% increase.
  • Each year, Colorado loses 22,500 acres of open space and farmland tue to development.
  • Colorado has the 2nd largest growth in housing development in the nation.

Nations originally controlling the western United States

  • In the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, the U.S. ceded to Spain the possession of Texas, California and New Mexico (lands included present-day Nevada, Utah, Arizona parts of Wyoming and Colorado). Other territories, including the Oregon territory, were ceded to the U.S. by Spain.
  • Mexico was not an independent nation until 1821.
  • By 1836 the Republic of Texas had established itself separate from Mexico and by 1846 Mexican control of California was in considerable question. Except (arguably) for the Civil War, Texas has been part of the United States since 1846.
  • In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the U.S. paid Mexico approximately $20 million for all of present-day California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of present-day Arisona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The nation of Mexico by then had officially controlled California and the mentioned territories for less than thirty years.
  • Los Angeles was named by Father Juan Crespi, a Spanish Franciscan priest and missionary who was born in Palma. He hailed from Europe.
  • San Antonio was named "San Antonio de Padua" by Spaniard Domingo Teran de los Rios in 1691. Teran, remembered today as the first provincial governor of Texas, was a member of the Spanish military who previously had spent twenty years in Spanish service in Peru.
  • San Francisco was named by Portuguese explorer Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno, who claimed it for Spain.

References

1. Population Environment Balance
2. U.S. Census Bureau.
3. NumbersUSA.com, and Center for Immigration Studies.
4. SUSPS data and numbers.
5. EcoFuture Ecological Footprint references.
6. Immigrants account for 45% of Colorados growth, by Michael Riley, The Denver Post, November 27, 2002.
7. Immigrants in the United States - 2002 - A Snapshot of America's Foreign-Born Population, by Steven A. Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies, November, 2002.
8. The Impact of Immigration on U.S. Population Growth, Steven Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies, Testimony prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, August 2,2001.
9. Population and Natural Resources, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2000.
10. Drilling For Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Won't Address National Security or Consumer Needs, Sierra Club; and U.S. Per-Capita Use of Petroleum Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1997, DOE/EIA.
11. Indicator 29 - Value and volume of wood and wood products production, including value added through downstream, 2003 National Report on Sustainable Forest Management, USDA Forest Service; and Indicator 31 - Supply and consumption of wood and wood products, including consumption per capita, 2003 National Report on Sustainable Forest Management, USDA Forest Service.
12. What Drives U.S. Population Growth?, Population Reference Bureau, December, 2002.
13. 97th Congress State Record Vote Analysis, 1982.