Imigration in America

[Jester]

Do you know any nation where entirely open borders has been tried? Let's petition this to begin in Canada, and the EU first. The main reason why every free nation has somewhat strict controls on immigration, but hardly any controls on emigration would be to place a reasonable hurdle to prevent abuse (e.g. criminal enterprises).

Well, Europe now has almost no internal borders anymore. With EU membership, you can travel from poor Poland to the rich UK to work - and many people have. I think the results have been tremendously beneficial to everyone involved. The US has been benefiting from this kind of internal migration for ages, it's just disguised by the fact that 50 states are "one" country.

Canada has adopted even sharper restrictions than the US, and my advice is again the same - foreign workers help, rather than hurt. Increase migration, reduce restrictions, open up the border.

I'm not saying literally destroy the border, with no customs, no passports, nothing at all. Just that coming to the US to work, or even to live, be far less restricted than it is now.

That depends on the ratio of producers to moochers, and how much the State offers in social welfare to all comers. Remove the socialistic benefits, and this scheme might work.

If you're really concerned by this (I wouldn't be), just set up a block of a few years on new migrants receiving benefits. Lots of countries do this. That will stop anyone who simply cannot work from coming and receiving benefits. But, overwhelmingly, migrants come to work. Work makes production, production creates taxes, taxes fund programs. They are an enormous net benefit to the social welfare system, not a cost.

For example, one impact locally, is that some of our schools are teaching children who speak over 60 different languages. How does that impact their education, the cost of education, and the education of the non-immigrant children?

I suspect the answer is "very little", but I'd have to see some evidence on that one before making a call. Kids are adaptable, second languages are beneficial rather than harmful, and the basic costs of schooling should be similar - you still have to buy a building, pay a teacher, get textbooks, etc, but you don't need two teachers, two buildings, or two textbooks.

It most surely helps with diversity, but has harmed the staples (reading, writing, math) which are the pathway to successful careers.

Has it? Plenty of countries teach second, third, fourth languages. Their kids don't seem any worse for wear. I'll need some evidence before believing that one.

There are strong libertarian reasons for unrestricted immigration, but that presupposes a lack of interference by the State. Since we have a socialistic welfare state, open immigration would be a ready siphon from the producers to those who would surely come to feed at the abundantly filled trough of government purloined riches.

So restrict access to the welfare state for a few years following migration. In general, migrants come to the US to work. Always have.

Not really. Anarchy would not ensure liberty. We need a structure of government to protect peoples rights. If citizenship affords no protections, or benefits, and increased costs, then it becomes a useless anachronism.

This isn't anarchy. It's relatively open migration. That's the system the US had in place for the majority of its history. Was that anarchy? Did that collapse the country? Did that eliminate the government, preventing them from enforcing rights? This is just a strawman. Nobody is talking about abolishing the US government.

As a natural born citizen, I do feel in some way that I've inherited the right of citizenship through the actions of my ancestors (jus sanguinis or jus soli).

You mocked Eppie's response as equivocation, but here you talk about your "right of blood" to citizenship. By what right does blood confer anything? In what way do we deserve what our ancestors did, had, or were? How is this different in principle from inheriting a title of nobility, or a crown? You don't inherit "character" or "heart" from your parents. (Okay, you kind of inherit your literal heart. But that's different.)

-Jester