FAIR - Goals, Objectives, and Guiding Principles

Our Goals:

to end illegal immigration;

to set legal immigration at the lowest feasible levels consistent with the demographic, economic, social, and environmental realities of the present.
Our Objectives:

to develop a better understanding of the causes and effects of immigration through research and policy analysis;

to inform leaders in academe, government, and the media, as well as the public at large;

to influence public policy directly by lobbying (to the extent permitted by our tax status) and by protecting the public's rights in the courts.
FAIR believes:

that illegal immigration can and must be substantially reduced by humane measures that are consistent with our democratic ideals;

that immigration should not be permitted to undermine opportunities for America's poor and disadvantaged to improve their working conditions and wages;

that our immigration laws must be fairly and effectively enforced; there should be no favoritism toward or discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, or national origin;

that all admissions of the foreign born come within a single, stable ceiling which is periodically reviewed on the basis of reasoned, explicit population goals for the United States.

that three criteria should guide selection of immigrants: (1) our fair share of refugees, with ultimate resettlement a key part of the program (2) our national manpower policy, and (3) concerns for reunification of nuclear families;

that the United States should not contribute to a brain drain that entices away the skilled and talented who are desperately needed in their homelands; we should meet our need for skilled professionals by training and retraining our own;

that the United States should make greater efforts to encourage population stablilization, economic development, and alleviation of poverty worldwide and especially in countries of great migration;

that the era of mass international migration as a solution to national problems has come to an end; problems of poverty and overpopulation must be vigorously confronted where people live, rather than postponing their solution by either the export or the importation of masses of people;
that determining its own immigration and population policy is the sovereign right and responsibility of every nation.
FAIR, 10/97.