Libertarian Lessons: Immigration

by | Aug 8, 2018

Libertarian Lessons: Immigration

by | Aug 8, 2018

https://pixabay.com/en/border-mexico-usa-united-states-62866/

Individuals are autonomous beings with rights that must be respected – by other individuals, and by government – regardless of religion, ethnicity, race, creed, or place of origin. We are each “endowed by our Creator” with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For libertarians, immigration is thereby considered a net good. “Let us exult, not stifle, man’s mobility!” declared Leonard Read, recognizing the importance of free movement in a person’s quest to better his life – even if that means leaving his country of birth.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776 – our Constitution’s philosophical antecedent – the issue of immigration was addressed even before that of “taxation without representation.” “He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States,” Jefferson wrote of King George III, “refusing to pass [laws] to encourage…. Migrations hither.” English kings had long feared anything rivaling their power, and large numbers of people immigrating to the American colonies threatened to raise up a population dwarfing that of the mother country. The Founding Fathers were pro-immigration.

However imperfectly, the Framers of the Constitution in 1789 would help create the most immigrant-friendly nation in the world. Restrictions on immigration were exceptional, and from the end of the Mexican War in 1848 all the way up to the 1920s there was no attempt to curtail movement across the southern border; military patrols sought rampaging Indians, not “illegals.” Those entering via Eastern ports only had to demonstrate that they weren’t suffering from some serious communicable disease, such as tuberculosis. The United States became a “beacon of freedom” in no small measure due to the ease with which people from elsewhere could come and make a life here.

Read the rest at fff.org.

Our Books

latest book lineup.

Related Articles

Related

In Defense of Inaction

In Defense of Inaction

On March 17, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by a woman named Mary Anastasia O’Grady titled, “Giving up on Haiti Isn’t a U.S. Option.” She argues, in short, that Americans don’t have a choice but to continue doing all the things that have failed in the past...

read more
Is America a Rogue Superpower?

Is America a Rogue Superpower?

“Unipolar” used to mean that the United States was, at least in theory, alone in leading the world. Now “unipolar” means that the United States is alone and isolated in opposition to the world. In global affairs, a hegemon is a nation that leads because it has the...

read more
Collateral Murder 2.0

Collateral Murder 2.0

When the footage of Reuters journalists and civilians were Wikileaked to the world, there was outrage. A shame exhibited by some in the American government caused them to reel from the crime that had been exposed, to downplay the prevalence of such murders, and...

read more
The Fed and the Fight for 2%

The Fed and the Fight for 2%

Last week, Jerome Powell & Co. met to issue an immediate decision regarding the status of the federal funds rate for March, and to provide some insight into the trajectory of monetary policy for the rest of 2024 and into 2025. As with the past few inflation...

read more
Truth Has No Chance on Capitol Hill

Truth Has No Chance on Capitol Hill

Americans are encouraged to believe that the U.S. Congress is practically on automatic pilot to serve the public. Happily, most Americans are not so gullible and Congress receives much of the contempt it deserves in public opinion polls. But the media and the...

read more
What Is ‘Extremism’?

What Is ‘Extremism’?

Amidst protests in the United Kingdom that have been going on since October 7, there have been multiple allegations of extemists among the protestors intimidating, harassing, and scaring innocent people who are not involved in the demonstrations. It seems that even...

read more