Immigration works.
Mass immigration doesn't.
Since 1990, mass immigration has added 32 million foreign-born residents, suppressed wages, and made housing unaffordable. Cut admissions, require assimilation, and write immigration law for the citizens already here.
A Wave of Mass Immigration
Annual legal and illegal entries and the foreign-born population since 1950. The 1990 Immigration Act more than doubled the legal caps.
Legal Entries (Annual)
Illegal Entries (Annual)
Foreign-Born Population (millions)
Foreign-born residents added since the 1990 Immigration Act
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; DHS Yearbook; CIS
The Impact on American Life
How mass immigration since 1990 has transformed the economy, housing, and opportunity for Americans.
51.6 million foreign-born residents - exceeding the previous peak of 14.8% set in 1890. The foreign-born share has more than tripled from 4.7% in 1970.[1]
The national price-to-income ratio rose from 3.5x in 1990 to 5.6x in 2024. In the 20 metros with the highest foreign-born populations, the ratio exceeds 7x - pricing out working families entirely.[4]
National median rent rose from $600 to $1,837 per month while real wages for workers without college degrees remained flat. In high-immigration metros, rents have tripled or quadrupled.[5]
Where the Costs Concentrated
The 1990 Immigration Act admitted roughly 32 million foreign-born residents over 35 years. They concentrated in twenty metros. Including U.S.-born children, the resulting immigrant stock now exceeds half the population in each of these counties. Home prices followed.
San Jose
+367%Santa Clara County, CA
| Metric | 1990 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $343K | $1.6M |
| Foreign-born population | 343K | 770K |
Immigrant stock (1st + 2nd gen)
+427K foreign-born since 1990
~1.10M
~58% of population
Miami
+659%Miami-Dade County, FL
| Metric | 1990 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $87K | $660K |
| Foreign-born population | 874K | 1.46M |
Immigrant stock (1st + 2nd gen)
+586K foreign-born since 1990
~2.05M
~76% of population
New York
+315%NYC (5 boroughs)
| Metric | 1990 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $189K | $785K |
| Foreign-born population | 2.08M | 3.07M |
Immigrant stock (1st + 2nd gen)
+987K foreign-born since 1990
~4.90M
~59% of population
Los Angeles
+321%Los Angeles County, CA
| Metric | 1990 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $226K | $950K |
| Foreign-born population | 2.90M | 3.37M |
Immigrant stock (1st + 2nd gen)
+475K foreign-born since 1990
~5.80M
~60% of population
Foreign-born counts: 1990 Census SF3 Table P042; 2023 ACS 5-year Table B05002. Immigrant stock derived from ACS PUMS (foreign-born + U.S.-born with at least one foreign-born parent). Home prices: 1990 Census SF3 owner-reported median value; 2025 Zillow Home Value Index Q3. Full methodology →
We've Been Here Before
America faced the same crisis 100 years ago. We solved it then.
The First Wave (1890-1924)
Problems: Overcrowded tenements, housing crises, wage suppression, strained public services, social tensions
The Second Wave (1990-Present)
Problems: Housing unaffordable, wage stagnation, overcrowded schools, strained infrastructure, social fragmentation
How America Solved It Before
After decades of mass immigration from Eastern/Southern Europe and China, the Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 cut annual immigration drastically.
From a high of 1.3 million in 1907, immigration went down to ~250,000 per year in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Immigration stayed low until the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, then surged after the 1990 Act.
Immigration Restriction
The 1917 and 1924 Acts dramatically reduced immigration levels, giving existing immigrant communities time to integrate without continuous new arrivals overwhelming the assimilation process.
Time to Assimilate
With a 41-year pause (1924-1965), immigrants learned English, adopted American customs, and their children became fully American. By 1970, the various European groups had merged into a common American identity.
The Result
The descendants of the first wave of mass immigration - Irish, Italian, Polish, Jewish, Chinese, etc - became fully integrated Americans.
We need the same approach today.
Mission
Comprehensive immigration reform that restores America's sovereignty and ensures successful integration.
Reduce Immigration
Transition from mass immigration to sustainable levels that enable integration.
Prioritize Compatibility
Focus on immigrants who can assimilate successfully, along with those possessing hyper-specialized skills critical to national interests.
The Three Questions That Matter
Immigration reduction is first and foremost. However, immigrants should be prioritized based on whether they can or will assimilate into American culture.
Language
Can they function in English?
About 22 million immigrant adults in the United States are limited-English proficient - roughly 47% of the foreign-born population aged 5 and older (Migration Policy Institute). The naturalization test uses a 78-word vocabulary list - smaller than a children's picture book. Schools in major cities teach in dozens of languages, diverting resources from American students. A nation that does not require a common language cannot maintain a common civic life.
The 1924-1965 immigration pause succeeded in part because it gave schools and communities time to teach English to the immigrants already here.
Culture
Are they from a compatible civilization?
America was built on a specific foundation: English common law, Christian (Protestant) values, strong work ethic, constitutional self-governance, and individual liberty. Immigration from Europe and the Americas draws on centuries of shared history and overlapping traditions. Immigration from civilizations with no historical ties to America - and fundamentally different legal, religious, and social systems - requires far more time and effort to integrate.
Assimilation is the mechanism that turns immigrants into Americans. Without it, immigration produces parallel societies and a weaker nation.
Economics
Does this serve the American worker?
Immigration policy should exist to benefit Americans. Since 1990, the foreign-born labor force has grown from 11 million to 31 million (roughly 9% to 19% of the U.S. labor force). Wages for non-college workers have stagnated while the cost of living in the 20+ metropolitan areas absorbing most of this inflow has climbed substantially faster than wages - rents, home prices, groceries, insurance, and services have all moved together. The H-1B program imports 400,000 petitions per year for jobs Americans can fill. The current arrangement serves corporations and very wealthy Americans, not the majority.
Immigration should strengthen the American middle class, not displace it.
The Standard
Immigration works when numbers are manageable, selection is based on compatibility, and assimilation is required. From 1924 to 1965, these conditions held. The result was the largest middle-class expansion in American history.
Since 1990, none of these conditions have been met. The Immigration Act of 1990 prioritized volume over compatibility, and 35 years later, the consequences are measured in stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, and communities that no longer resemble the nation they were built for.
Latest Research
Data-driven analysis on immigration policy, cultural integration, and the real costs of mass immigration.
Where American Immigration Policy Stands in 2026
Legal immigration entries are estimated to be ~575,000 in 2026, an approximate 50% cut from the 2024 high of 1.36 million. Legal immigration is being addressed solely by the Executive Branch, while nothing changes in Congress.
What Britain Should Teach Congressional Republicans
British voters chose to leave the European Union in 2016 largely to reduce immigration. Years later, immigration has never been reduced.
Birthright Citizenship: The Legislative Path
The Trump administration will likely lose the birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court. A combination of executive action and congressional legislation can achieve the same practical outcome.
Why the H-1B Program Should Be Shut Down
The H-1B program admits roughly 400,000 foreign workers per year into U.S. professional jobs at sub-median wages. The structural costs to American workers, the housing market, and the domestic STEM pipeline are documented. The substantive policy goal is full repeal, OPT elimination, and revocation of H-1B status for any current holder with less than five years of U.S. residence.
Sources
1 U.S. Census Bureau, "Foreign-Born Population in the United States," American Community Survey (2024)
2 Department of Homeland Security, "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics" (2023); Migration Policy Institute analysis
3 U.S. Department of Labor, "Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration" (1907-1930); Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924; Historical Statistics of the United States
4 Visual Capitalist, "American Income vs. Home Prices (1985-2025)"; LongtermTrends.net, "Home Price to Income Ratio"
5 iPropertyManagement, "Average Rent by Year (1940-2025)"; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey