Roy Beck is a former journalist and anti-immigration activisit. Roy is the president of NumbersUSA and has been working to decrease immigration levels in the U.S. since 1996. He was also a former president of the National Immigration Forum but resigned after learning that they supported proposals for increased legal immigration.
In 1995, Beck was fired from his job as an editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer for writing a memo that suggested that African immigrants in Atlanta posed significant risks to crime and infestations. After his firing, Beck’s organization became successful and by 2009 had grown to 600 employees with revenues over $30 million. In 2013, Beck’s organization had a nearly $17 million budget.
Beck is best known for his efforts to lower levels of legal immigration to the United States. A native of Iowa, he retired from The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1995 and currently resides in Washington, D.C.
Beck’s sometimes controversial rhetoric has been characterized as nativist, anti-immigrant, and racially charged. In an interview with National Public Radio, Beck said that the U.S. was receiving “the dregs of the world” and that these immigrants had to be taught “how to behave in a decent, civilized society.” In another interview with the Los Angeles Times, Beck described Mexico as a country made up of mestizos and Indians “who don’t have values.”
Roy Beck has also referred to Mexican culture as one where immigrants are more likely to come into contact with criminal elements and are less likely than European immigrants to assimilate into American culture.
Roy Beck has also been critical of illegal immigration. In 2007, Beck criticized the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, for supporting the DREAM Act and going against her husband, President George W. Bush, for reforms to grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
In 2014 Beck released an advertisement called “The Truth About Illegal Immigration,” a compilation of audio clips from undocumented immigrants committing violent crimes such as murder or rape and other crimes unrelated to immigration. The spot includes white text on a black background describing the crimes committed and concludes by asking viewers if they would want their children living next door to these criminals. Read more here.
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