The Open Border Fantasy

Perhaps one of the most common arguments I hear as a Libertarian goes something like this, “I can get on board with almost everything else Libertarians believe in, but their Open Border policy is completely insane and a deal breaker for me.” 

Well, the problem with that argument is that it’s simply not true; at least not in the way it is often portrayed.  Libertarians believe in free immigration and unrestricted free labor market, yes.  But that is not the same as leaving the door open for anyone and everyone to just waltz in unannounced, as most people who vilify the Libertarian stance would have you believe.

What Libertarians advocate for, according to the LP platform 3.4 concerning Free Trade and Migration: “Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property.”   What that means is that if you are foreign born person who wishes to immigrate to our country and you pose no immediate danger to our security, health or property, then you should be allowed to enter.  There should not be a long wait, excessive bureaucratic red tape, or arbitrary restrictions that prevent you from coming to our country. 

I think most people would agree with that stance.  The misunderstanding that “Libertarians want open borders” may be related to the misunderstanding about how our current system works.  Did you know the U.S. immigration law limits the annual worldwide immigration to 675,000 immigrants?  That’s a total number, but it’s further broken down based on marital status, education levels, family already in the country, the purpose for your visit, your birth country, the country you reside in now and on and on.  And each of those sub-categories has their own annual numerical limit on how many people can enter.  So, if you want to come the United States, you’ll need to deal with a barrage of lengthy, and in some cases expensive, paperwork requirements to get you properly classified into an arbitrary bureaucratic category.  Once you’ve finally been classified, you’ll need to now get in line.  Depending on which category you fell into, there may or may not be any openings left this year.  You may or may not get to the front of the line next year, and you may need to fill out all of that paperwork again each year too. 

If you’re just trying to feed your family, you may not have the resources to wait around on our immigration system to kick in and let you go to work for an employer on the other side of the border.  An employer, by the way, who has likely sponsored your visa request.  So that job is just waiting for you and you are just waiting on the slow rusty inept bureaucratic gears to turn.  Is it really any wonder so many decide to forgo the system and come here illegally?

Think of it like this.  There’s this really great club downtown that you and bunch of friends all want to go to.  But when you get there the bouncer only lets like 3 of you in.  Now your friends are in there enjoying the good life and you’re stuck outside.  Some people show up after you and are welcomed in, maybe because they are from a different place, have a different education, or simply have more money.  When the line isn’t moving, one might consider sneaking in the back, especially when the system for getting in seems so broken and unfair.  What Libertarians are actually proposing is a simpler system with no restrictions on immigration for peaceful people.  We want to check ID’s at the door, have people sign in and keep the line moving. 

We believe that having a simple, streamlined and unrestricted “moving line” has many benefits over our current system.  Perhaps the most important is the increased security.  By having a moving line immigrants are encouraged, rather than discouraged, to enter our country lawfully.  That means we know who they are, we know where they are, and we know how many there are.  They pay their taxes.  They no longer live in a shadow society.  They have no fear of cooperating with law enforcement.  Policing illegal immigration becomes much easier.  When it’s easy to get into that club, then the only people sneaking in the back door are the ones that genuinely shouldn’t be there.  Currently most illegal immigrants are good folks just trying to make a living.  So, finding “the bad guys” is like finding a needle in the hay stack.  However, if everyone has a handstamp except that guy, the bouncers know exactly who to bounce.  Whenever you ban something you create a black market for that thing; immigration is no exception.  The more you restrict it, the harder it will be to identify those who come in.  Knowing who is here will make us far safer than not knowing who is here. 

But also, legal immigration is just better for our economy and international trade.  In a free market, individual businesses make decisions that will benefit their own personal business.  If they need more migrant labor, it will be available.  If they don’t, well, there won’t be any jobs here and there will be less immigration.  A Free Market is perfectly capable of determining the need for low skilled migrant workers.  To argue that the government needs to restrict immigration to “protect American jobs” is to argue that the government needs to regulate and/or control the supply of labor.  Regulating the allocation of a resource is central planning.  You cannot claim to support an economic free market while also consistently arguing for this socialist economic policy.  It’s just not consistent.  Let the market decide how much immigration there should be. 

Oh, and there are those who will scream that illegal immigration is a drain on the welfare state and they are costing taxpayers money.  That’s a neat argument, and there are several quick snappy comebacks like “End the Welfare State then!” and “Schrödinger’s Immigrant” who simultaneously steals our jobs and lazily lives off welfare.  (How does one “steal” a job, btw?  Can you do that with a knife? “Get outta my chair!!  This is my job now!!” – it just makes no sense.  Any job, excluding slavery, is a free exchange of goods and services.) 

What should be said, on the topic of welfare immigrants, is that illegal immigrants already DO NOT qualify for welfare.  The law already says they can’t get assistance.  So, when you say, “We have to stop illegal immigration because they are on welfare” you’re arguing the wrong point.  What you are really clamoring for, and Libertarians whole heartedly agree with you, is an end to welfare fraud.  Welfare fraud, is not limited to illegal immigration.  I promise you there are plenty of American white trash trailer park queens and hood rats benefiting from the same loopholes and exploits.  Stop yelling about the ants in the pantry unless you are also going to address the rats, the roaches and the maggots. 

So please, stop using the Strawman argument that Libertarians are for Open Borders.  We support an “Orderly Border” and unregulated free market labor.  We do not see the current convoluted, complex, arbitrary immigration system as a safe, economic or philosophically sound policy.  It desperately needs to be reformed; not with a wall, not with numerical categorical restrictions, and not with special rules for special people.  The Libertarian immigration policy is just simple, common sense efficiency that allows people to make their own decisions for themselves and their families, regardless of their nationality, so long as they don’t hurt people or take their stuff.

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