ABSTRACT
Government data released in January, 1991, suggest that legal and illegal immigration will propel the United States population to 400 million by the year 2080. Growing population pressure inexorably strengthens the hand of those who argue for sacrificing environmental values in order to provide jobs, housing, drinking water, and roads. Immigration control is a fundamental element of population stabilization and conservation. Replacement-level immigration, an equitable complement to replacement-level fertility, is at present about 160,000 immigrants a year because that is the estimated number of persons who annually leave the United States. All-inclusive, replacement-level immigration is a political objective urged by a number of Americans. Demographic projections extending beyond twenty or twenty-five years are fraught with uncertainty. Any one of several parameters—fertility, mortality, and immigration—can change far beyond what would be thinkable in the light of a country's history. Immigration into the United States is about six or seven times greater than the number required to replace those who voluntarily leave.
