As long as they do not violate anyone’s rights, immigrants should be able to purchase property, engage in commerce, speak their language, and practice their faith in any manner they choose and within any borders.
Editors Note: On March 16th George Mason University Professor of Economics Bryan Caplan debated Washington University Professor of Philosophy Christopher Wellman on the topic, “Is Immigration a Basic Human Right?” Below is Professor Caplan’s opening statement. There are many complaints about governments, but the harshest is, “This government grossly violates human rights.” The background assumption is that […]
This past Monday, President Trump released a new executive order shutting down the refugee program for 120 days and banning immigration from six majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. President Trump attempted to justify these changes by stating in part that: The Attorney General has reported to me that more than 300 persons who entered the […]
If any part of liberalism needs revitalizing, it’s the case for liberalizing immigration. Nationalists on the left and right argue that easing immigration restrictions would make Americans worse off. During the Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders criticized open borders as a “right-wing proposal” that would “make everybody in America poorer.” And of course Donald Trump is calling […]
Birthright citizenship aids both the assimilation and acceptance of immigrants and is largely responsible for our successful history of economic and cultural integration.
President Trump earlier this week issued a revised version of his infamous executive order to temporarily ban the issuance of new green cards and visas for nationals from Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. The new order dropped Iraq, which eviscerated Trump’s argument that the list of banned countries is based on an existing list […]
During the presidential campaign Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, tweeted a picture of a bowl of Skittles candies along with the caption: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.” Trump’s tweet generated backlash from many corners but […]
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) recently introduced the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act. If it were to become law, RAISE would cut legal immigration by 50 percent over the next ten years by reducing green cards for family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, slashing refugees, and […]
Throughout the presidential campaign, there was much talk of a Muslim registry. Fortunately, that seems to have fallen by the wayside since the election, and the Trump administration has been consistent, thus far, in denying it will pursue one. Still, we should remain vigilant about it because something similar is still on the table: a […]
The idea is wrongheaded on both counts: they would harm citizens of the US as well as those of Latin America.
For some fifty years, the US has had a policy of welcoming refugees fleeing the brutal communist dictatorship in Cuba. In the 1990s, the policy was changed to “wetfoot, dryfoot,”under which Cubans who succeeded in reaching the United States would be allowed to stay, but those unfortunate enough to be caught at sea were barred. On […]
For 50 years, America has offered an escape hatch for victims of the Castro regime; now President Obama is slamming it shut.
For almost a decade, Congress debated creating an immigration system free from discrimination by nationality, country of birth, or country of residence. President-elect Trump, however, now proposes to discriminate unlawfully against certain foreign nationals on the basis of the same protected grounds without any legislation from Congress.
Not only have their ideas failed on their terms, they have backfired, creating more lawlessness than before.
Although I’m looking for reasons to be optimistic and I’m hoping my predictions about Trump continue to be as wrong going forward as they have been up to this point, the weight of evidence convinces me that his immigration policies will likely be just as bad as many of us feared.
If we believe in liberty for migrants as well as Americans, we must grant them liberty peacefully to travel the world unmolested and to settle wherever they find homes to rent and enterprises to work for.
If you try to conflate morality and legality, you’re going to have a bad time.
The terrorism risk posed by refugees and asylum-seekers could skyrocket in the future and justify significant changes in either humanitarian immigration programs, including more intense screening or other actions. The recent attacks in Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey, however, do not justify such drastic changes.
Emigration restrictions are guaranteed to injure the would-be emigrants in exchange for a very small positive effect on those who would not emigrate – if there is a positive effect at all. It’s a foolish policy that does more harm to more people than just letting skilled foreigners seek jobs where they are most highly valued.
Is there any issue that divides people more than immigration? It’s an emotional topic that pits competing factions between and within parties against each other. As a result, it’s a high-profile issue this election cycle. Where do the candidates stand? In the new Learn Liberty video below, George Mason University Professor Donald Boudreaux addresses where […]
In 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Operation Wetback, a project that rounded up hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and deported them. Now policy leader Donald Trump is proposing that we do something similar—on a much larger scale. Think 11 million immigrants deported in two years. Now, many argue that if immigrants are coming to the […]
Today is Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexico’s unlikely victory against its French occupiers in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The holiday is usually associated with festivities celebrating Mexico’s incredible culture. But numerous historians believe there’s an added reason to celebrate this day: If Mexico hadn’t won this battle, they argue, the […]
What do we learn if immigrants lower the wages of American high school dropouts? That we should restrict immigration? No. We shouldn’t. First, if immigrants reduce the wages of high school dropouts, it sends a very clear message: don’t drop out of high school. Indeed, this is how people have responded to competitive pressure from […]
With presidential contenders like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders making a fuss about foreign laborers coming to the country and depressing wages or murdering our women and children immigration reform has once again moved to the front lines of presidential politics. Have you ever wanted to cut through the demagoguery and fear-mongering and get plain […]