What limits – if any – will the next administration seek?

Immigration adds 3.5 million people to the U.S. every year (roughly the city of Los Angeles).

Sustainable immigration requires: Reducing legal immigration and Stopping illegal immigration.

What limits – if any – will the next administration seek?

The Biden administration removed the guardrails at the border. Illegal immigration spiked from all over the world. Vice President Harris’ “Root Causes” approach failed to stem the numbers. Now she’s the likely Democratic nominee and the Harris–Walz ticket has a combined NumbersUSA immigration grade of 25%. Donald Trump has a proposal that could double legal immigration while his running mate J.D. Vance says “we’re done importing foreign workers.”

It’s a lot to sift through, so let’s simplify the question for both tickets: How Many?

Should we drain Lake Michigan?

It’s no secret that our water infrastructure is under strain. People are seriously talking about pumping water out of the Great Lakes because “our food producing regions, especially those stretching from the southern Great Plains across the sunny, dry Southwest, rely heavily and sometimes exclusively on groundwater for irrigation. And it’s disappearing — fast.”

Does adding 3.5 million people a year through immigration make this problem easier to solve or harder?

Another year in ecological overshoot

Did you know? The U.S. meets its consumption demand by taking resources from future generations (drawing down domestic resources), and from other countries (importing resources; exporting waste). Ecological overshoot occurs when ecological footprint exceeds biocapacity.

Does adding 3.5 million people a year through immigration make these problems easier to solve or harder?

Sensible immigration policy should prioritize a population size America can sustain over a population size America can contain. Learn more.

8 billion potential customers. Is the U.S. border open?

When Harris and Trump say they support legal immigration, how much do they mean?

“[There is] No discussion of limits, impacts, maintaining a livable state/country, a healthy environment, wildlife or how much the state/country can absorb without being overwhelmed and ruined,” says NumbersUSA board member Lesley Blackner. “There are now more than over 8 billion humans on Planet Earth (up from 2.5 billion in 1950) and many millions are itching to come to the U.S.”

We are adding 3.5 million people (a city of Los Angeles) every year through immigration. But billions more could potentially come.

So, candidates: “How many is too many?”

The 2024 presidential campaign “​​sets up a sharp contrast” in immigration visions, says James Massa, CEO of NumbersUSA.

Indeed, in picking Gov. Walz as her running mate, Vice President Harris ensures that the Democratic ticket will be running on a record of 1) rewarding illegal immigration, 2) weakening enforcement, and 3) increasing overall immigration and employers’ ability to bypass American workers. Their campaign plans to promote the infamous “bipartisan border security bill” that mandated illegal immigration.

But will they articulate what – if any – limits they would seek?

The Trump-Vance ticket will be running on a record much more aligned with NumbersUSA’s vision (legal reform; enforcement reform) than their counterparts (it’s a low bar). But they also should clarify for voters just how many people they believe immigration policy should admit.

The next administration could immediately stop releasing 1 million inadmissible aliens into the country every year. But if they also double green cards (for foreign students or otherwise), then the numerical impact would be a wash. We would still be adding . . . 3.5 million people a year through immigration.

One way or another, the citizen lobby will be necessary to secure a better immigration policy – one that we can sustain – during the next Congress and administration.