Speech #1040192233

Chairman. I rise in strong opposition to the amendment. Supporters of eliminating the bills reductions in legal immigration argue that legal and illegal immigration are separate and distinct issues. and therefore ought to be dealt with in separate bills. But we all know that if these provisions are dropped now. the chances of the House acting on legal immigration reform this year are very slim indeed. The fact is. legal and illegal immigration are related because they both affect the size of our countrys population. And. we are letting too many people into our country. What Congress does with regard to both typos of immigration will determine how many newcomers our communities will have to absorb. how fierce the competition for jobs will be. and how much the quality of life in the United States will change in the coming decades. Fueled by both legal and illegal immigration. the population of the United States is growing faster than that of any other industrialized country. By the end of this decadeless than 4 years from nowour population will reach 275 million. more than double its size at the end of World War II. Unless we reduce our high rate of immigrationthe highest in the worldour population will double again in just 50 years. Middlerange Census Bureau projections show our population rising to nearly 400 million by the year 2050. an increase the equivalent of adding 40 cities the size of Los Angeles. But many demographers believe it will actually be much worse. and alternative Census Bureau projections agree. If current immigration trends continueand thats what were debating hereour population will exceed half a billion by the middle of the next centurya little more than 50 years from now. Immigration now accounts for half ourand that rate of growthproportion is growing. Post1970 immigrants. and their descendants have been responsible for U.S. population increases of nearly 25 millionhalf the growth of those years. In other words. much of what demographers consider our natural growth rate is actually the result of the large number of immigrants in our countryand the great majority of them have come here legally. As recently as 1990. the Census Bureau predicted that the population of the United States would peak. and then level off. a few decades from now. Since 1994. however. because of unexpectedly high rates of legal immigration. the Bureau has changed its projections. and now sees our population growing unabated into the late 21st centurywhen it will reach 700 million. 800 million. a billion Americansunless we start acting now to lower our levels of legal immigration. Those of us who represent communities where large numbers of immigrants settle have long felt the effects of our Nations high rate of immigration. Our communities are already being overwhelmed by the burden of providing educational. health. and social services for the newcomers. With a population of 500 million or more. our problems. of course. will be much. much greater.