Immigration bill would spark surge of legal arrivals

[dkf]

WASHINGTON — While much of the debate over immigration has focused on the fate of the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. without legal authorization, one of the biggest immediate impacts of the reform bill being prepared in the Senate would be a sudden, large surge in legal migration.

The U.S. admits about 1 million legal immigrants per year, more than any other country. That number could jump by more than 50% over the next decade under the terms of the immigration reform bill that a bipartisan group of senators expects to unveil as early as Tuesday. The impact would be felt nationwide, but areas that already have large immigrant communities would probably see much of the increase.

The immigration package includes at least four major provisions that would increase the number of legal immigrants, according to people familiar with it. Some of the parts could generate as much controversy as the provisions dealing with those who enter the country illegally or overstay their visas, according to those with long experience of the politics of immigration.

Supporters say that higher levels of legal immigration would meet the U.S. need for certain kinds of workers. Increased legal migration also would reduce most of the incentive for illegal border crossings, backers of the plan say, and would allow border agents to focus on smugglers and people with violent criminal records.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-75398559/

Well that's just what we need to improve our high unemployment numbers...not.

[earthside]

1. Overpopulation is our biggest problem ...

... on this planet and for this country.

It is the overpopulation of humans that drives anthropogenic global warming (obviously), it is too many people striving to live the American consumptive life-style that is depleting our natural resources ... you name it, almost all of our most intractable problems stem from too many humans making too many demands on this planet.

And we are set to purposefully increase the number of people living in the U.S. and seeking to put down more of our 'American' carbon footprints on this land?

Actually, we ought to be limiting new immigration of all kinds and we ought to be seriously considering ways to reduce the population we already have in this nation.

But debating overpopulation is just about the only real political and cultural taboo left ... until we can face this problem squarely we're going to be in bigger and bigger trouble with each passing year and with each increase of millions of people on this Earth.