NumbersUSA describes itself as a “non-partisan, public policy organization that favors an environmentally sustainable and economically just America” or, more succinctly, an “immigration-reduction organization.” It was founded in 1997 by Roy Beck, a former journalist who wrote primarily on environmental issues such as urban sprawl.
The organization’s goals include studying the numerical levels of legal and illegal immigration and informing the public about the recommendations of two national commissions from the 1990s to reduce immigration, recommendations that include eliminating chain migration (whereby an immigrant who has gained citizenship sends for adult relatives to join him) and eliminating the visa lottery. It also generally opposes any legislation that would increase or maintain current immigration levels in the United States.
NumbersUSA has ties to John Tanton, an outspoken conservationist who has helped found other anti-immigration groups. Tanton, a controversial figure, is publisher of the Social Contract Press, which has put out some of NumbersUSA’s materials and reprinted the French novel “The Camp of the Saints,” criticized by some as racist. Beck once worked for Tanton’s magazine The Social Contract. Beck writes on the NumbersUSA Web site that “nothing about this website should be construed as advocating hostile actions or feelings toward immigrant Americans.”
The organization’s studies and books as well as its research and reports are available for download. Visitors can find information organized by “interests” or topics, such as American workers, the environment and illegal immigration. Those pages contain reports, congressional testimony and media reports that support NumbersUSA’s views. The group also keeps track of the immigration voting records of members of Congress.
Comments: NumbersUSA states that its views on immigration result from environmental and economic justice considerations, but its “immigration-reduction” stance is generally shared by conservatives.
Political Leanings: Conservative, favors strict immigration controls