They're opposed because to them, the United States is the people living there, not the landmass. From that point of view, adding a different people to the land worsens the crisis, not ameliorates it.

If, indeed, it is a crisis at all - nearly every country is currently at its most populous in history by far, and ecosystems are at their limits. We're nowhere near worrying about extinction from underpopulation - quite the opposite.

Of course anyone can "become an American" (or in other words, the definition of American can be broadened to include anyone). That doesn't mean adding large numbers of new "Americans" each year (~1 million/year, for more than a decade now, even during Trump) won't change the character of the country, or increase conflict as different groups pursue their ethnic self-interest.

This is true due to resource intensity of consumption.

But since we have ample time left to change our lifestyles and societies to be more eco-friendly, there's no harm in ignoring one half of the causes, right?

Edit: To clarify, the half that is being ignored is the number of people, in the people times consumption per capita equation.

What exactly is being ignored?

The difference between America and the rest of the world is that America has more immigrants relative to its population and in absolute terms than any other country.

Out of curiosity, can you name a non Western country less racist than America?

Like I don't want to be coy about this, the Republican Party is diametrically opposed to any kind of immigration reform that would let in more people that don't look and talk like their voters. The only policy that republicans support that might decrease their average age is anti education and anti birth control/abortion measures.

We should not continue to be surprised by this. It's what they've been saying for decades. You can't counter an irrational fear of the other with rational arguments about immigration - the racist nugget at its core just has to be nipped in the bud.

Many people are racist/xenophobic and don't want people of other races or cultures "taking over" their neighborhoods or towns. Even those who aren't actively racist are just resistant to change on that level, because it scares them.

This is why you see all the other vile laws against abortion and the “don’t say gay laws”… they don’t actually benefit the states at all but are a useful tool for the politicians that peddle them to stay in power.

Opposing immigration hardly has any support in the US, what has support is opposing certain kinds of immigration. From their point of view some immigrants can be a net negative to the country, regardless of how many children they bring with them or have, and prefer immigration to be restricted for them.

So I don't think you need to be flabbergasted because a tiny minority opposes immigration. For any idea there's a tiny minority that will believe in it.

Edit: A picture of Alaskan Spring wilderness I took in 2005

https://imgur.com/Cm7b7EW

I've been doing genealogy research lately, and when my great-grandparents immigrated to the US (around 1910), the only requirement for "legal" immigration was that they entered the country at a designated port of entry and were identified and documented on entry. Around 10 years later they were US citizens (and that length of time was more due to them not feeling they needed it, than due to any bureaucratic nonsense).

I expect that if we were to re-adopt a similar system today, it would not be catastrophic in the ways the government (both the left and right) would like us to believe. So I think you are branded anti-immigrant at times because being "anti illegal-immigration" is just kinda missing the point, and shows a lack of compassion and empathy for people who immigrate in ways that don't tick the arbitrary boxes.

The rules are not arbitrary. At least, they are only as arbitrary as literally every law is. You probably enforce similar rules in your own domain. Or maybe you are as compassionate and empathetic as you claim, and just let uninvited people stay on your property.

> and shows a lack of compassion and empathy for people who immigrate in ways that don't tick the arbitrary boxes.

It appears you have a savior complex. I'll guess you imagine illegal border crossers are all poor brown women with children fleeing gang violence, just yearning for freedom. Otherwise I'm not sure how you can talk about empathy and compassion about a group of millions of people per year who all have different experiences and motivations for illegally entering the US.

Babies grow up to be adults. We don't need foreign workers, that's a myth for corporations to make more profits through suppressing wages.

Hire your own countrymen and women to work as employees for you. Check the male labor participation rate, there are plenty of workers available.

This would probably come as a surprise to the likes of Mitt Romney and Donald Trump (different though they may be, there's a reason they share a political party). I've often heard the slogan, "run the government like a business" which should tell you something. And though Trump may use nativist rhetoric he never had any qualms about hiring guest workers for his own businesses.

All that is to say, while there is a constituency for such feelings, there are no real representatives for it in government.

My own views tend toward the pragmatic - when the time comes to replace my roof, I just want someone who can do the job, because I sure don't want to.

I don't see why - in other countries throughout the world, minorities live in harmony with majorities, especially when they're ethnically very distinct, so that they are still visibly a different group even after culturally assimilating.

It is only the US where this is a source of conflict.

I think the parent answers this question fairly well: many white people in the US don't want black people to be the majority, because they fear that black people will then have the power to retaliate for centuries of oppression.

And beyond that, they fear that a "new majority" will change culture and values (and as a result, law) in ways that make them uncomfortable.

This doesn't only apply to the white/black dynamic. And it's all bullshit, of course, but the people in power (who are mostly older white people) have been using effective fear-mongering tactics for decades.

>It is only the US where this is a source of conflict.

Not sure this is sarcasm or just naivety when other countries have literal wars and genocides over these RIGHT NOW

Maybe you want to bring in mostly educated non-criminals? Or mostly people who generally agree with the governing philosophy and our notion of freedom, so that it might not be voted away?

"In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country, with 47 million immigrants as of 2015. This represents 19.1% of the 244 million international migrants worldwide, and 14.4% of the United States population. ...

According to the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, the United States admitted a total of 1.18 million legal immigrants (618k new arrivals, 565k status adjustments) in 2016. Of these, 48% were the immediate relatives of United States citizens, 20% were family-sponsored, 13% were refugees or asylum seekers, 12% were employment-based preferences, 4.2% were part of the Diversity Immigrant Visa program..." [1]

That's roughly 3,200 new Americans every day, 365 days a year. 1/5 of the world's migrants come to one country: The USA. I personally think this is something to be proud of. We are still a nation of immigrants and though the Trump administration did try to curtail immigration, the system is still functioning and relatively robust.

Now, what to do about top international talent avoiding the country because of radical right wing politics that demonize immigrants and conservative lawmakers that consistently try to prevent people coming? I think that's a solution with an obvious answer.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_St...

Did those numbers decline meaningfully during the Trump presidency? His constituency and platform is very anti-immigrant.

Regardless of that, how many immigrants in the US feel secure in their status? I know a lot of people on H-1B visas who have been in the green card line for over a decade, and live with the constant stress of losing their job and having to leave the country nearly immediately. I also know some who are asylum seekers, and stats aren't awesome there, either; I think something like 40% of them are ultimately rejected, some after years of being in limbo. Even family-sponsored immigration can take years to work its way through the system.

So sure, we have a lot of immigrants here, but I do wonder how many of them actually feel welcome, and secure in their progress toward permanent residency or citizenship, if that's what they desire. And meanwhile, all these immigrants -- even those who have waited years and been granted green cards -- can't vote and meaningfully participate in how they are governed.