The policies we choose today will determine the legacy we leave tomorrow. Plus: Have we outsourced our immigration policy?

Illegal immigration is outpacing legal immigration and our government is outsourcing immigration policy to citizens of other nations who are in the country illegally. Share this report:

We have lost control of our borders. Not coincidentally, we have also lost 44 million acres of American open space, natural habitat, and farmland — an area larger than Florida that was paved over in just 35 years. Over the last 15 years alone, an area greater than five Yellowstones has been lost. This is not sustainable. I’m Jeremy Beck, here with Rob Harding; welcome to the Sustainable Immigration Newsletter!

Sustainable immigration requires:

Reducing legal immigration; and

Stopping illegal immigration.

Happy Birthday, Sir David

Sir David Attenborough turned 98 years old last week. His life work includes an ongoing effort to break taboos on subjects like population (an immigration issue in the U.S.) to save habitat.

EarthX and Earth Day: Breaking the taboo

Our sustainable immigration outreach and education efforts this month got an energizing boost from EarthX’s Congress of Conferences in Dallas, Texas, where NumbersUSA and America’s immigration-driven population growth problem were on the agenda.

Formal panels and on-stage presentations provided an avenue to disseminate our unique studies concerning the drivers and impacts of urban sprawl in America. Conversations with fellow attendees during meals and between sessions enhanced the efficacy of the experience.

One noteworthy conversation was with Astor Boozer, Western Regional Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Mr. Boozer’s primary concern is the rapid loss of America’s farms, farmland, and farming communities. He appreciated hearing about NumbersUSA’s participation at the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention, and our message resonated with him that America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers don’t want the consequences of immigration-driven population growth.

April was an opportunity to reiterate that mass immigration makes a mockery of Earth Day. As our population gets larger, so do our environmental problems.

Congress needs to heed the warnings of Earth Day and focus on the root cause of environmental degradation – unsustainable population growth. Whether or not America says “yes” to an immigration system we can sustain and be proud of comes down to us.

Save your state. Protect your place.

Our latest sprawl report looks at Nevada.

Although just released, our report has already generated headlines.

"Many Nevadans desire slower population growth to maintain the state's unique culture and preserve its resources," a local real estate agent tells Newsweek.

Does that sound like something you might hear in your state?

Like most Americans, Nevadans fighting to conserve their land and quality of life support E-Verify and immigration reductions. Explore the polling.

“[T]hey have lost their neighborhood, they have lost their way of life, they have lost everything that was…”

That’s a quote from a PBS story about sprawling North Carolina, but it could be from anywhere in this great country of ours, from Sea to Sprawling Sea.

What PBS viewers may not know (but NumbersUSA members do): North Carolina actually isn’t very divided over growth. Four out of five voters would prefer the state grow more slowly or stop growing at all. Only 14 percent favor continued fast growth. Like most voters across the country, North Carolina supports measures to reduce immigration. Read more here and take action to defend your way of life where you live.

Leon spoke with ABC News about neighboring South Carolina, which lost as much open space in the last 35 years as it had throughout the rest of history. Read and watch the report by clicking on the image below.

Washington Post: density has downsides.

Our studies have demonstrated over and over again that you cannot stop the loss of open space in America without addressing immigration policy; you can only hope to slow it down. Density is a mitigation tool – and the preferred way of life for many – but Americans who desire more open space have science-supported reasons for asking Congress to address sprawl at its primary source: federal immigration policy.

“The denser the city, the less health-supporting nature you are likely to find,” reports the Washington Post. Access to nature may be a critical health issue, and whether you are sprawling out or up to accommodate population growth, fewer Americans have access to nature’s health clinic. Read more here.

Defending NumbersUSA in Denver

Speaking of density, we got dragged into a local fight about housing development and population growth when a pro-development advocate attempted to discredit our polling that shows a majority of Coloradans want to slow or stop population growth and support immigration reductions to achieve that end. Leon responded to the smears with a civil but withering letter to the editor. We are happy to debate but we will not be cowed or silenced by baseless smears.

A “cosmic wonder,” lost to most Americans

“All you need to watch the Lyrid meteor shower,” the New York Times reported last month, “is a dark sky.” Ouch. More than 99 percent of Americans live under light-polluted skies. Is the Times trolling us?

The health benefits of connecting with nature are well documented. NumbersUSA’s Scientific Director Leon Kolankiewicz recalls witnessing a meteor shower similar to the one advertised in the Times with his son:

“Lying down on the ground, we watched the annual Perseid meteor shower together from an elevation of about 8,000' in a dark, starry sky and it was a celestial spectacle that I shall never forget. Connects One to the Cosmos that each of us is a tiny but important part of.”

Beautiful. Of course, to see that cosmic wonder, Leon and his son traveled to Lassen Volcanic National park -- where they summited the dormant volcano Lassen Peak at 10,457'. Without changes to immigration policy, that kind of effort is increasingly what it will take for Americans to experience the wonders of the universe.

Make that change,