Federation for American Immigration Reform

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non profit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immigration policy. The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies FAIR as a hate group with ties to white supremacist groups. FAIR was founded in 1979 by Michigan surgeon and white nationalist John Tanton. Other co-founders include Otis Graham and former Gulf Oil CEO, Sydney Swensrud. It is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. History The "founder of the modern immigration reform movement"—John Tanton, an ophthalmologist in Petoskey, Michigan—"saw a threat coming in the soaring rates of immigration" and that the "environment was threatened by overpopulation". Frustrated by the lack of interest of his "liberal colleagues in groups such as Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club where he was actively engaged, he helped establish "three major national groups"—FAIR, Numbers USA and the Center for Immigration Studies—to fight to reduce [legal and illegal] immigration." Tanton—along with University of North Carolina professor Otis Graham and former Gulf Oil CEO, Sydney Swensrud—established FAIR in 1979. In 1982 Tanton also established U.S. Inc, a foundation chaired by Tanton with financial support from Cordelia Scaife May which would over the years, serve as a funding conduit for FAIR, Numbers USA, the Center for Immigration Studies, and many other groups.