Bainbridge misses the point on immigration...

Mostly-libertarian Professor Bainbridge complained about Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments on immigration policy, and received the usual complaints. He's taking the pragmatic approach on the immigration question. That's fine, and in fact I agree with him; so long as the economic incentives to cross the border are present, the border will be crossed. This needs to be understood and taken into account when setting our nation's border policies.

As a libertarian, I favor as few restrictions on travel by ordinary people as possible. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be any need for a border control system at all. Vernor Vinge has written about a libertarian-anarchist society in the Southwest facing invasion from a Mexican army. The army crosses the border and travels the roads with little resistance. But while the libertarian society has no standing army and relatively small-scale security services, certain individuals in that region have so heavily fortified their homesteads that as soon as the army seeks to impose its will upon one, the resistance is fierce and bloody. The prospect of encountering such individuals every time the invading army decides to set foot on someone's farm is sufficient to deter the invasion.

While that's a work of science fiction, a society which practices universal arms ownership does not have much to fear from individual terrorists. However, weapons of mass destruction and a state of war with islamic terrorism change this equation. Protecting its citizens from external threats is a legitimate function of libertarian government, and it can be implemented in a manner consistent with the principles of free enterprise and free travel.

Permission to enter the United States for economic reasons should be easily obtained. However, it should require permission. Historically America has welcomed those who come to our land seeking freedom and opportunity, and we should continue to do so. However, those who come to our land seeking instead to do us harm must be stopped at the borders. The alternative is an entire nation fortified against terrorism, at significant cost to freedom and liberty.

We can set our border policy to reflect the libertarian values of economic openness while closing our border to illegal entry. Those who seek honest work for honest pay will follwo the legal procedures for that process, if those procedures are streamlined to block entry only to criminals and terrorists. Those who refuse to follow the legal process, who cross the border illegally and live their lives outside of our laws, are those we do not want in our country.

Whatever his faults on other issues, Schwarzenegger is a legal immigrant and understands that there's more to this issue than prejudice and bigotry. Legal immigrants have a right to be in the country, receive the protection of our laws and our justice system, and contribute to the upkeep of the government services they use. Illegal immigrants, whatever the quality of their motivations, are by nature of their immigration status criminals who fear the law, conceal their presence, provide cover for the entry of terrorists, and breed disrespect for the law.

The Republican party does need to examine its policies on border entry. The libertarian ideal of an open society is an important policy debate that needs to take place. But we can't have that debate on policy while permitting its open violation by millions.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin speaks sense on this issue.

Posted on 2005-05-01 05:26:05.0 by matthew@triggerfinger.org

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