A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing of credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for the purpose of profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

Overall, we rate CIS a questionable source based on publishing misleading information (propaganda) regarding immigration and ties either directly or indirectly to the John Tanton Network, a known White Nationalist.
Detailed Report

Reasoning: Anti-Immigration Propaganda, Misleading Claims
Bias Rating: EXTREME RIGHT (8.9)
Factual Reporting: LOW (7.0)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

History

Launched in 1985, (CIS) was founded by John Tanton, a retired ophthalmologist. He is also known as the founder of Numbers USA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), collectively known as the John Tanton Network. John Tanton believes maintaining an American culture requires “a European-American majority,” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he is a prominent figure in the white-nationalist movement.

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) argues that John Tanton “played no part in its organization” as they state their founder is Otis L. Graham. According to his book, Debating American Immigration, 1882–present, Otis L. Graham was a chairman of the board of The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) (1985-1995).

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) describes itself as “an independent, nonpartisan research organization.” According to the Daily Beast, “CIS focuses on reduced legal immigration and supports increased detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants.”

Members of CIS have testified before congress over 100 times between 1995-2009. In 2013, CIS played a significant role in fighting the bipartisan immigration reform bill. Mark Krikorian appeared in Congress to testify against the bill, claiming that “virtually all illegal aliens are guilty of multiple felonies.”

According to Politifact, in 2016, Jason Richwine, best known for his controversial doctoral dissertation entitled “IQ and Immigration Policy,” began writing reports and blogs for CIS about immigration.

In 2016, The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) published “79 immigration actions the next president can take.” According to a Daily Beast article, they state “a number of the 79 items on the list composed by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) have either been implemented or shown up in leaked draft proposals from the (Trump) administration.”