Federation for American Immigration Reform facts for kids
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| Formation | 1979 |
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| Founder | John Tanton Otis L. Graham Jr. Sidney Swensrud |
| Founded at | Washington, DC |
| Legal status | Non-profit tax exempt |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
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Region
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United States |
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Key people
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Daniel A. Stein, President (1988-) |
| Affiliations | Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) (est. 1987) FAIR Congressional Task Force (FCTF) (est. 2004) Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) (est. 1985) |
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Budget
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Revenue: $11,157,713 Expenses: $11,246,727 (FYE December 2016) |
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non-profit group in the United States. It works to change U.S. immigration policy. FAIR publishes reports, holds events, and runs campaigns. The group aims to reduce both legal and illegal immigration to the U.S.
FAIR was started in 1979 by John Tanton, a surgeon from Michigan. Other co-founders included Otis Graham and Sydney Swensrud. Its main office is in Washington, D.C. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that tracks hate and extremist groups, has classified FAIR as a hate group. This means the SPLC believes FAIR's views are extreme and promote hostility towards certain groups.
Contents
How FAIR Started and Grew
John Tanton, an eye doctor, is seen as the person who started the modern movement to limit immigration. He believed that rising immigration numbers were a threat. Because of this, he helped create FAIR, along with other groups like Numbers USA and the Center for Immigration Studies. Their goal was to lower immigration.
Tanton, along with professor Otis Graham and former Gulf Oil CEO Sydney Swensrud, officially founded FAIR in 1979. A few years later, in 1982, Tanton also started U.S. Inc. This foundation helped fund FAIR and other groups over the years.
Roger Conner was FAIR's first executive director. Dan Stein has been the president of FAIR since 1988.
Early Efforts to Limit Immigration
In the mid-1970s, John Tanton became a key leader in the effort to limit immigration. People who wanted to keep or increase immigration were called "expansionists." Those who wanted to reduce it were called "restrictionists." The idea of restricting immigration grew after a rise in both legal and illegal immigration. This happened after the Bracero Program ended and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed.
Tanton tried to get a group called Zero Population Growth to support immigration limits. When they didn't agree, he started FAIR in 1979 with some initial money.
Throughout the 1980s, FAIR's efforts to influence lawmakers in Washington, D.C., became more successful. They also ran direct mail campaigns to gather support. FAIR received money from donors like Cordelia Scaife May. It also received funds from the Pioneer Fund. The Pioneer Fund was a controversial organization. It was known for supporting research linked to ideas about human differences that are now widely seen as racist.
After news articles revealed FAIR was getting money from the Pioneer Fund, FAIR stopped taking grants that needed to be publicly reported. However, the SPLC claimed FAIR continued to get private money from Pioneer's leaders for several more years.
Focus on Language and Culture
John Tanton wanted FAIR to focus on issues related to Hispanic people in the U.S. He was interested in "cultural division" and bilingualism (using two languages). However, FAIR's board of directors did not want to change their main focus.
Instead, FAIR helped Tanton create U.S. English. This group focused on issues like overpopulation, immigration, and the environment. Through the work of Senator S. I. Hayakawa and Tanton, U.S. English became a strong movement. This led to many states passing laws to make English their official language between 1981 and 1997.
From 2007 to 2015, Julie Kirchner served as FAIR's executive director.
Public Opinion and Controversy
In the 1990s, some historians explained the rise of groups like FAIR and U.S. English. They saw it as part of a larger trend of xenophobia. This term means a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries. This fear often grows when old social structures feel unstable.
In 1994, FAIR supported California Proposition 187. This law aimed to stop undocumented immigrants from getting public benefits. It also tried to prevent them from using public services like non-emergency health care and public schools.
In 2004, FAIR worked with a group called Protect Arizona Now. They supported Proposition 200 in Arizona. This law was similar to California's Proposition 187. It restricted undocumented immigrants from public benefits and voting. It also made it a crime for public officials not to report someone's illegal status.
In 2007, FAIR successfully campaigned against a big plan to change immigration laws proposed by President George W. Bush. This plan would have offered a path to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants. FAIR worked with talk show hosts and other groups to oppose the plan. FAIR became a very important group in the movement against immigration.
John Tanton had written some private memos in 1986, which later became public. In these memos, he expressed concerns about birth rates and cultural changes. He worried that if Latino immigration was not limited, it could lead to divisions in the United States. He also wrote that for "European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority." When these memos were leaked to the press in 1988, Tanton eventually resigned from U.S. English. He denied the accusations against him.
FAIR's Affiliated Groups and Events
FAIR has created several related groups. These include the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) and the FAIR Congressional Task Force (FCTF). The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) also started from FAIR in 1985.
Since 2007, FAIR has held an annual event in Washington, D.C., called "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" (F2F). At these events, conservative radio hosts often broadcast live. In 2008, TV host Lou Dobbs praised FAIR during a live broadcast from the event.
In 2009, immigration and health care reform became linked in political discussions. Opponents of health reform argued against what they saw as subsidized health care for undocumented immigrants. FAIR's "Hold their Feet to the Fire" event in September 2009 focused on the costs of illegal immigration.
Critics like America's Voice director Frank Sharry said that groups like FAIR were trying to "intimidate" Congress. He suggested their actions were part of a "culture war" rather than just a policy debate. FAIR's president, Dan Stein, responded that critics were "juvenile mud throwers." He said FAIR simply wanted to see immigration laws enforced and lower immigration levels.
In 2011, a former aide to President Ronald Reagan, Linda Chavez, called John Tanton "the most influential unknown man in America." FAIR's President Dan Stein said that Tanton had not had "significant control over FAIR for years."
By the end of 2016, FAIR's yearly budget was about $11.2 million.
In May 2017, Julie Kirchner, who had been FAIR's executive director since 2005, was named ombudsman of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. This role reports to the Department of Homeland Security.
A 2017 report by FAIR claimed that undocumented immigrants in the U.S. cost taxpayers about $134.9 billion. This report included the children of undocumented immigrants, even if they were U.S. citizens, in its cost estimate. However, the Associated Press criticized this report. They said it made broad generalizations and had major problems with its methods.
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