Posted Friday, August 1st, 2008 by HLPRonline editorial staff
Anchor Babies, Over-Breeders, and the Population Bomb: The Reemergence of Nativism and Population Control in Anti-Immigration Policies
by PRISCILLA HUANG
At the start of 2008, news of a “baby boomlet” made headlines. For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. fertility rate, or average number of children born to each woman, reached 2.1 in 2006, the number statisticians say is needed for a population to replace itself. Demographers pointed to an increase in the number of immigrants as a main reason for the higher birth rate.
Many economists welcomed the surge in population growth as a sign of the country’s likely future prosperity. While most industrialized nations struggle with shrinking populations due to low birth rates, the United States can look forward to a stable tax base and a steady workforce.
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