In a departure from its usual fare of public lands, pollution and endangered species, the Sierra Club is about to enter a potentially divisive debate about immigration, the outcome of which could alter the way people think and talk about the issue.
Members of America's largest and most prestigious environmental organization will vote in March whether to reverse the club's neutral policy and endorse a drastic reduction in immigration as a way to slow U.S. population growth.
Approval of the measure, which will appear on the club's annual mail-in ballot, could help change the argument for cutting immigration, focusing on its effect on the environment as well as its economic and cultural impact. It also could set a precedent for other environmental groups, several of which are considering whether to adopt a position on immigration.
A resounding defeat, on the other hand, could put the brakes on an alliance between environmentalists and immigration opponents, which some fear would alienate minority communities and distract groups like the Sierra Club from traditional work, such as preserving wilderness areas.
"The battle of where they come out on immigration is of huge importance," said Brad Erickson, who directs the small San Francisco-based Political Ecology Group and has been critical of groups using environmental arguments to restrict immigration. "This is really going to be a litmus test for the broader environmental movement."
Anti-immigration groups have tried for years to pull mainstream environmentalists into their camp, using personal letters to high-level activists, ads in magazines and newsletters, conferences with environmental themes and research papers that appear to support their arguments.
Advocates of immigrants' rights contend that environmental groups should focus on wasteful U.S. consumption levels and work to reduce global population growth by improving opportunities for women and making birth control more accessible.
The Sierra Club and other large environmental groups have been reluctant to take a position on the issue, in part because their members are so divided.
"This is a very large and diverse club," said Carl Pope, executive director of the 550,000-member organization. "The environment is the only thing that unites us, and this is not really an environmental issue."
