Many Americans recognize the clear connection between mass immigration-driven population growth and growing threats to the environment. Nevertheless, the two issues are very rarely raised together, although the open borders lobby attempted to play the environmentalist card in its attempts to stop former president Trump’s border wall construction. Moreover, most environmental organizations, which in the past acknowledged the connection, have drifted towards open borders positions or simply prefer to remain silent on immigration, be it for ideological reasons or to avoid antagonizing powerful, pro-mass immigration donors.
Illustrating the environmental damage being inflicted is a short video released by Townhall senior writer Julio Rosas on Twitter, showing massive piles of trash – including dirty clothing, backpacks, and plastic bags – dumped by illegal aliens after entering the United States in the Yuma Sector of Arizona. Of course, this is nothing new (see here and here, for example).
As Reuters wrote back in 2012: “Trash tossed by thousands of illegal immigrants as they chase the American Dream has been a persistent problem for years in the rugged Arizona borderlands that lie on a main migration and smuggling route from Mexico.” And logic dictates that the greater the volume of illegal border crossings, the more garbage gets dumped in the border areas.
FAIR has been warning about the impact of mass immigration on the environment and natural resources for decades. One recent report emphasized that “states like Florida are in grave danger of losing unique plant and animal species if future population growth is not carefully planned. Any legitimate discussion about conservation and protecting our environment must include an honest examination of how reckless immigration policies not only lead to inefficient urban planning, but also place our natural resources and sensitive ecosystems at risk.” While this report focused specifically on Florida, similar situations are evident across the country.
FAIR also rated a broad swath of environmentalist groups, finding that “of the 25 organizations examined, 12 talked about overpopulation in general, but only 7 addressed it as a problem in the United States. However, while some groups did acknowledge immigration as a significant source of U.S. population growth, most shied away from advocating immigration reduction as a solution, with only two organizations recognizing the role that immigration has in population growth.” By eschewing the mass migration “elephant in the room,” these organizations are doing the U.S. environment and their own cause a disservice.
Hopefully, bona fide environmentalists will take heed and free themselves from the blinders imposed by the political agendas of many environmentalist organizations that either sympathize with mass immigration or simply ignore it. The surge of illegal immigration continues unabated, and 2022 will probably not be any better than 2021 given the Biden administration’s refusal to stem the crisis, enforce our laws, and secure our borders. That undoubtedly means just as much, if not more, garbage littering the Southwest border, more feet and vehicles trampling delicate flora, as well as long-term environmental damage caused by rapid and unplanned population growth and urban sprawl.