NPG Deputy Director Tracy Canada can be reached by email at tcanada@npg.org.

Recently, there seems to have been a flurry of activity in Congress surrounding immigration and population issues. Thankfully, not all of the action has been a blow to those of us concerned with U.S. population growth!

Earlier this year, U.S. Representative Raul Labrador (R-ID) introduced H.R. 4731, the “Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2016” – which would bring some much-needed reform to our nation’s refugee program. The most important population-related aspects of the bill would:

• Prohibit any President from unilaterally increasing the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. Instead, he or she would need Congressional approval for any increases above the annual caps set by law;
• Require the termination of refugee status of any alien found to be ineligible for the program (currently, it is just a possible result);
• Require the termination of refugee status of any alien who returns to the country from which he or she claimed persecution when conditions there have not changed;
• Limit the Secretary of Homeland Security’s authority to allow entry of aliens who are inadmissible under law. (Currently, the Secretary can allow even known criminals to enter the U.S.) The bill would limit the Secretary’s waiver privileges only to grounds of health;
• Increase the wait time from when an alien is granted refugee status until he or she receives lawful resident alien status from 1 year to 3 years – and during this period, refugee status may be terminated at any time if the alien is found to be ineligible or in violation of the program’s requirements;
• Require that refugees who are denied adjustment to lawful resident status return to DHS custody every 5 years – likely for removal from the U.S.;
• Prohibit the resettlement of refugees in any jurisdiction that opposes it – anywhere voters and/or elected officials have taken action disapproving resettlement; and
• Exclude from refugee status any individual fleeing “generalized” violence. Instead, the bill would require the alien is a specific, individual target of violence on the sole basis of his or her “race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.”

This bill is a positive step in the right direction when it comes to some population-increasing consequences of our current refugee program. Most importantly, the bill provides real incentive for the implementation of an official U.S. population policy. We must stand together and demand that our elected officials oppose more and more immigration-driven population growth. (For more information, see NPG’s Proposed National Population Policy.)

Only by adopting an official national population policy can we preserve our nation’s environment, economy, natural resources, and quality of life for future generations.

It is only when our elected leaders, organizations like NPG, and brave citizen activists like you all stand together that we can accomplish real change. We must not stop in our efforts – and we must continue to move forward in the fight to slow, halt, and eventually reverse U.S. population growth!

Thank you again for all you do!