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Now more than ever, policymakers concerned about conservation need to ask, "How many Americans?" The question is less one of space and survival than of quality of life and consent of the governed.If immigration continues at current levels, the nation’s population will increase from 301 million today to 468 million in 2060 — a 167 million (56 percent) increase. Immigrants plus their descendents will account for 105 million (63 percent) of the increase. Net immigration has been increasing for five decades; if immigration continues to increase, it will add more than the projected 105 million that will be added if immigration levels stay the same.
Immigrants and their children account for the overwhelming majority of our population growth, negating the American people's voluntary embrace of smaller families. In 2002, 23 percent of all births in the United States were to immigrant mothers. While immigration has little effect on the nation's age structure, new immigrants plus births to immigrants add some 2.3 million people to the nation's population each year, making for a much larger overall population.
Urban sprawl is a direct result of this massive population growth. Our calculations show that about half the loss of rural land in recent decades is attributable to increases in the U.S. population, while changes in land use account for the other half. Population growth and the immigration policies that drive it must be an integral part of efforts to preserve rural land.