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NumbersUSA is an immigration reduction organization that seeks to reduce US immigration levels to pre-1965 levels without country of origin quotas as established in the Immigration Act of 1924. It advocates for immigration reduction through user-generated fax, email, and direct mail campaigns. NumbersUSA also seeks to educate the public about the environmental, social, and economic impacts of immigration policy.

History

NumbersUSA was founded by Roy Beck while he worked for anti-immigration environmental activist John Tanton. Beck says that he started NumbersUSA after he wrote The Case Against Immigration (ISBN 0393039153). In the course of researching the book he tracked many of the problems in the US to immigration. However, Beck says that NumbersUSA has been independent of Tanton since 2002.

NumbersUSA has grown aggressively since its inception. In 2004, it reported 50,000 members. In 2007, it claimed its website had 1.5 million visitors. The organization currently claims as of December 2011 1.1 million member activists.

On June 28, 2007, NumbersUSA claimed a victory after a sweeping immigration bill collapsed in the U.S. Senate. The organization's members used information and tools from NumbersUSA to contact legislators and voice opposition.

Activities

NumbersUSA lobbies the executive and legislative branches of the US government for immigration reduction. It takes a multifaceted approach to immigration reform. First, executive staff at NumbersUSA Education & Research Foundation work directly with congress to inform them about the impacts of immigration. Second, NumbersUSA Action Inc. encourages direct civic outreach from its members who can send customizable faxes with pre-written headers to government officials. Members are also encouraged to call their representatives to voice concerns about the adverse consequences of immigration in response to email alerts. Also, it operates Americans for Better Immigration, which scores U.S. representatives and senators on their immigration-related votes. The Huffington Post reports "NumbersUSA has become something of a bellwether for Republican presidential candidates, who cite the organization's immigration report card to prove they oppose unauthorized immigration." The NumbersUSA 501c4s get 95 percent of its lobbying budget through member donations of $100 or less.

NumbersUSA is a member of the Coalition for the Future American Worker. It shares Arlington, VA office space with ProEnglish, an organization advocating English as the official language of government in the U.S.

NumbersUSA also disseminates resources to educate the public about the effects of current immigration levels.

NumbersUSA ran an ad during the Fox News Republican presidential candidates debate in 2011 which included some of their minority activists and the statement. "The immigration debate should not be about the color of people's skin, or their country of origin, or their religion, or where their grandparents were born, The debate should be about the numbers."

Policies

NumbersUSA's says it is "pro-immigrant" and favors annual immigration of 200,000. On the group's website, Beck cautions against "immigrant bashing" and says, "Even illegal aliens deserve humane treatment as they are detected, detained and deported".

According to Fox News, NumbersUSA is "an organization that presses for lower immigration levels along with humanitarian treatment of illegal immigrants"

Criticism

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes NumbersUSA as part of a network of "anti-immigration" organizations created by Tanton. A Wall Street Journal Opinion section article, also identifies NumbersUSA as one of a half dozen groups founded or funded by Tanton in order to stop immigration and promote population control. In February 2009, NumbersUSA was called a nativist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center's report "The Nativist Lobby", though the SPLC also stated that there is no evidence of racism on behalf of Roy Beck or his organization. NumbersUSA firmly denies having any racist or extremist views.

References

1. Pear, Robert (July 15, 2007). "Little-Known Group Claims a Win on Immigration". New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2008. Numbers USA is one of many organizations fostered by John H. Tanton, an ophthalmologist from Michigan who has also championed efforts to protect the environment, limit population growth and promote English as an official language.
2. "NumbersUSA staff comment to News21 description (See Comment below the entry". Retrieved April 10, 2009. After Roy Beck started NumbersUSA with Roy Beck's own money, John Tanton made some small contributions amounting to less than 0.3% of the total funding of the organization. ... Roy Beck did start NumbersUSA while he worked for John Tanton. But people often start businesses and non-profits while they are working for somebody else. After all, you need to have money coming in while you set things up.
3. ^ "NumbersUSA Form 990" (pdf). NumbersUSA. September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2009. Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Pear, Robert (July 15, 2007). "Little-Known Group Claims a Win on Immigration". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
5. "Roy Beck", Joseph A D'Agostino. Human Events. Washington: August 25, 2003. Vol. 59, Iss. 29; pg. 16
6. Pear, Robert (July 15, 2007). "Little-Known Group Claims a Win on Immigration". The New York Times.
7. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/12/05/4435261-more-oh-eight-rise-of-the-non-profits
8. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/May2007/Beck070509.pdf
9. Whois lookup for betterimmigration.com
10. Huffington Post: NumbersUSA runs ads in South Carolina Primary
11. "Activist calls amnesty a 'slap in the face' to blacks" Lesley Clark. Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. Washington: April 27, 2007. pg. 1
12. Address of NumbersUSA
13. Address of ProEnglish
14. http://www.numbersusa.com/content/publications/fact-sheets.html-0
15. North County Times REGION: Groups' TV ad campaigns advocate reducing legal immigration http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_abd27527-9d58-5efb-9fbf-6732b1ca9246.html
16. "GOP Lawmakers Warn of Administration Plan to Grant Amnesty to Illegal Immigrants". Fox News. June 23, 2010.
17. SPLC's overview of John Tanton's Fundraising Network
18. "Borderline Republicans". Opinion. The Wall Street Journal. June 17, 2004. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
19. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/nativist_lobby.jsp
20. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/nativist_numbersusa.jsp
21. "'The Nativist Lobby'". The New York Times. February 4, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2010.

External links

• NumbersUSA Education & Research Foundation
• NumbersUSA Action
• NumbersUSA Facebook
• NumbersUSA Twitter
• Americans for Better Immigration
• Change the Numbers
• NumbersUSA YouTube channel

• Immigration political advocacy groups in the United States
• Non-profit organizations based in Arlington, Virginia
• Sustainability organisations
• Organizations established in 1997
• Population concern organizations