According to a report by the Texas Transportation Institute (Urban Roadway Congestion Annual Report, 1998), Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Miami are the most congested cities in the nation. The Congressional Quarterly publication CQ Outlook devoted a 13-page analysis to the nature of the traffic congestion problem raised by the Texas institute in its October 16, 1999 issue. Yet the focus of the article was how to cope with the problem. Absent in its discussion -- and in that of most urban planners -- is attention to the way the nation is increasing its population -- and thereby the number of drivers and cars on the road -- through immigration. Understanding that fact is an essential first step to participating in the growing national discussion of whether we would be better off if the current mass immigration flow were abated.
The following table shows the top twelve "most congested" large cities, according to the Texas institute, and the number of new immigrants who have settled in those metropolitan areas between 1991 and 1998 (according to data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service).
Metro Area New Immigration(FY 1991-98) 1. Los Angeles 811,510 2. Washington, D.C. 232,056 3. Miami 297,142 4. Chicago 319,687 5. San Francisco 156,387 6. Seattle 81,006 7. Detroit 83,565 8. Atlanta 69,278 9. San Diego 169,832 10. Riverside 125,902 11. Las Vegas (n/a) 12. New York 978,208 3,324,573
In addition to these more than 3.3 million new residents legally settling in these congested metro areas, they were joined by countless numbers of illegal alien residents.
Can anything be done about this immigration component of the population increase and its impact on the livability of our communities? Certainly. Immigration policy is set by Congress. If our elected representatives wanted to cut today's mass legal immigration in half or to one-third of its nearly a million-a-year level, it could do so easily. Moreover, not only could Congress mandate these reductions, it could do so without any significant curtailment of our refugee program, the ability to bring immediate family members into this country or programs to let employers bring in temporary workers for high-tech jobs. Congress could also decrease the out-of-control invasion of illegal workers by making effective the ban on employers hiring them.
Would that make a large contribution to reducing population increase, urban sprawl and traffic congestion? You bet.
FAIR, 10/99.
