Are Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR), NumbersUSA, and Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) Really Playing the GOP for a Bunch of Suckers? SPIES IN THE CAMP - Part IV – CIS

by Norman Adams on August 26, 2013 at 10:11 AM

“For credibility, [CIS] will need to be independent of FAIR, though the Center for Immigration Studies, as we’re calling it, is starting off as a project of FAIR.”
-John Tanton, letter to Cordelia Scaife

Below are the backgrounds of Center for Immigration Studies’ Principals and Directors. These are some of CIS’s most strident environmentalists, liberal Democrats, and abortion advocates.

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director
Mr. Krikorian is the current executive director of CIS. Before joining CIS, Krikorian worked for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). True to Tanton’s plan to create distance between FAIR and CIS, Krikorian said this:

“The center [CIS] has no views on population control, no views on China’s one child policy, or anything else. The guy you mentioned, John Tanton, he’s an eye doctor or retired doctor, he helped arrange our first grant, he’s a population guy, Malthusian in a lot of ways, has never been on our board, doesn’t know where our offices are, never told or had any hand in the opinions, development, or views of the research of the center in any way. I met him a couple times and he seems like an affable enough guy, but what do I know, and what do I care.”

Peter Nunez, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Peter Nunez is the chairman of CIS’ board of directors, on FAIR’s advisory board, and the former vice-chair of the Alliance for a Sustainable America (AS-USA), which seeks to protect the environment by limiting the human population through promoting replacement level fertility and a moratorium on all immigration.

Vernon M. Briggs, Jr., Board Member
Mr. Briggs is a pro-Union academic. In a 2006 interview with John Tanton’s The Social Contract Press, Mr. Briggs stated “I consider myself to be a liberal Democrat.”

Frank Morris, Sr., Board Member
Mr. Morris is the former Chairman of the Board member of Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, now AS-USA, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the education of the media, policymakers and the public about the impact of population and immigration. In addition, Mr. Morris is a supporter of SUSPS, which is a network of Sierra Club activists who support a comprehensive approach to environmentalism within the Sierra Club. “We support Sierra Club policies and principles with the exception of current Sierra Club U.S. population policy, which we believe is inadequate in addressing U.S. overpopulation.”

George W. Grayson, Board Member
Grayson is a former Liberal Democratic member of the Virginia State Legislature. He is a member of the Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy. Grayson is pro-choice and has stated that he would prefer abortions to continue, even if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

Thomas C.T. Brokaw, Board Member
Thomas C.T. Brokaw on CIS’ board of directors is the chair of INFORM and a former board member of the Defenders of Wildlife (DW). INFORM is an organization that seeks to “educate the public about the effects of human activity on the environment and human health” through producing short films for the public. DW ran attack ads against Republican candidates in Colorado and New Mexico. DW is a well-known left-wing organization that endorses democrats 97% of the time. Brokaw has also contributed $45,000 to the League of Conservation Voters.

Jan C. Ting, Board Member
Mr. Ting is a Professor of Law at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Delaware in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, but two years later Ting left the Republican Party in a dispute over his endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. During the 2008 general election he was discovered to have contributed to Barack Obama for president, observed attending a rally for Obama, and when asked, cited his concerns about John McCain's immigration policy and support for the Iraq War.

Is CIS Really Playing the GOP for a Bunch of Suckers?

CIS Executive Director, Mark Krikorian, has been very successful in influencing conservative thinkers. Most prominently, Krikorian preaches CIS’s radical population control philosophy on the Conservative news and commentary website, National Review Online.

Image source: The Temple News.