I would like to thank Jessica Lisovsky for her response (“Don’t conflate immigration, over-population,” Feb. 14) to my letter (“We are stifling ourselves with growth,” Jan. 31).

Jessica seems to think immigration has little impact on growth and that to limit immigration or family size is somehow racist.

It needs to be pointed out that in the United States, about 20 percent of growth is an influx of immigrants of all types. Every day 10,000 children get born, 2,000 people come in and 6,000 people die. So for every person we lose, we gain two. A dangerous condition.

I graduated from VHS in 1978. My class was exposed to the perils of overpopulation, and it was understood that families should stop at two children. Thanks in part to Ronald Reagan and the Christians, the environmental movement was derailed. In the resulting economy of greed, many of my classmates went on to have three, four and five children. Politicians like Gov. Jay Inslee and Gary Locke both willfully had three children. Chelsea Clinton is pregnant with her third; of course, Nancy Pelosi had five. I believe it is biologically negligent behavior.

Jessica also made issue with forced sterilization. It doesn’t need to be forced. I got a vasectomy at my own expense years ago; the procedure was easier than getting a tooth filled, and I haven’t noticed the difference. It’s too bad sterilization isn’t promoted.

I still don’t know how much the adjudication of asylum seekers cost or who has to pay. Perhaps the Vatican should foot the bill since most of Latin America is Catholic. For all the Catholicism, why are so many Latin American countries getting in trouble?

I’ve been called a xenophobe and racist for opposing immigration. These labels are inaccurate. Call me selfish for not wanting the rest of the world’s people to move in around me.

— Jeff Schnelz