A Century of Immigration Reform
Missing from the recent immigration debate, and crucial to its wise resolution, is a coherent view of any long-term objective of reform of immigration rules. To wit, I propose one such objective:
In one century all nations should have open borders.
Freedom, Justice, and Economics provide three independent rationales for this position.
Limitations on movement directly compromise freedom. If someone wants to move to a new country, immigration rules generally should not prevent the implementation of that free choice. And people do want to move, for reasons including rejoining family members, fleeing persecution and war, and pursuing economic opportunities. Quotas turn away applicants arbitrarily, limiting the freedom of potential pioneers and pilgrims.
Justice could be enhanced by opening borders because the location in the world of someone’s birth should not determine his or her fortune in life. More specifically, cross-country inequality and inequality of opportunity are enormous, and it would be just to allow people to migrate through the golden door.
Economic arguments tend to support free movement of the factors of production. Immigration restrictions prevent labor from moving freely to the places where it can efficiently be employed. Immigration generally raises average income among the original population of countries that receive immigrants; and presumably the migrants would themselves be “better off,” evidenced by their free choices to venture abroad. Economists have been irresponsible in strongly advocating free movement of capital while keeping quiet about the economic benefits of allowing free movement of people.
So, principles of freedom, justice, and economics all suggest that, at least in the long run, people should be able to move wherever they want in the world. In the short run, I see no inherent problem with temporary holds for security checks; strategies for anticipating and mitigating possible cultural clashes; techniques for ensuring that existing populations can protect community standards; and other ways to promote smooth integration of migrants and the countries that welcome them. However, the aspiration should be that we all have much to gain from immigration: much to learn about the world, and much to trade with each other. Looking toward to a century of policymaking with the objective of open borders in mind, we can chart a smooth path to that world of greater freedom, justice, and prosperity.
