Letters: Migration to U.S. overwhelming

December 12, 2010
Santa Barbara News-Press

Columnist Thomas Elias writes that global warming will cause a severe drought in Mexico, resulting in millions of poor farmers flooding the U.S. Students of what global warming will do to all nations around the equator and further might be more concerned about the numbers wanting to migrate to the U.S. A recent U.N. survey reports that, given the opportunity to migrate to the U.S. today, 700 million adults would come tomorrow.

This includes 6.2 million Mexicans, 18 million Chinese and 18 million Indians. That’s only three countries. Over 12 million applied this year for the diversity visa lottery alone. One billion people in the world live on less than $1 a day and 2 billion on less than $2 a day.

Mr. Elias doesn’t mention U.S. population growth (the U.S. population is now at 310 million), which is driven by immigrants both legal and illegal. In California, 97 percent of our state’s growth is due to immigration and births to immigrants.

The U.S. population already is beyond sustainable. Are we to be the dumping ground for the world’s poor and hungry?

This is the reason the U.S. needs a strong population/immigration policy with laws that are enforced. Secure borders come first, then fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. And for those poor people around the world, let’s help them in their own countries with birth control and food aid.

Marilyn Brant Chandler DeYoung, Board Chairman, Californians for Population Stabilization, Santa Barbara