Posts Tagged ‘ immigration ’

"Conservatives would never sign off on population controls as a cure for unemployment, rightly pointing out that new workers are not mouths that should be regretted because they eat, but hands and brains that should be welcomed because they grow the economic pie. Yet they are now peddling the restrictionist nonsense that immigrant workers diminish economic opportunities for Americans." (06/26/12)

"If the administration’s proposal temporarily goes as far as the Dream Act would, it will shrink the informal economy, increase economic efficiency, and remove the fear and uncertainty of deportation from potentially millions of otherwise law-abiding people. It would be a good first step toward reforming immigration and a glimpse at what the Dream Act would do." (06/15/12)

"In a free market, firms and workers should be free to negotiate and work together -- regardless of nationality. The labor market is the largest market in the U.S., and increasing legal immigration will allow people to move to our relatively capitalist economy, where they are most productive, increasing economic growth in the process." (05/22/12)

"Moderate immigration reformers usually argue in favor of more skilled immigrants. As a matter of economic efficiency, are they correct?" (05/02/12)

"Overall, net illegal immigration has decreased, and the deportation rate has nearly doubled since Obama took office. The decline seems mostly to do with the economy, however, and this along with the unintended incentive created by border security for illegal immigrants to remain in the United States confirms any suspicions we might have that immigration controls, like practically all other government controls, do not work as advertised." (04/30/12)

"In point of fact, the states exercised the only political authority over immigration into the United States from its founding until the late 19th century. The US Constitution, as ratified, explicitly forbade the federal government to interfere with state control over immigration for 20 years .... Additionally, the US Constitution, as ratified, forbade its own amendment to change that for 20 years .... After 1808, Congress and the states could have amended the Constitution to create a federal power to regulate immigration, but they never did, so no such power exists ..." (04/25/12)

"They sound like a group custom-built and poll-tested to appeal to Republicans: hardworking youngsters with a powerful attachment to America, upright habits and a thirst to join the Army or enroll at State U. But the potential beneficiaries of the Dream Act are getting no love from the GOP. That's because they are illegal immigrants -- born abroad and brought here as children by parents desperate for a better life." (04/23/12)

"This immigration debate is a classic example of why libertarians must become better communicators. Libertarians and others advocating immigration law reform talk about 'open borders.' Conservatives, on the other hand, insist America must have 'secure borders.' Both sides use these terms as if they were mutually exclusive. They’re not. They’re opposite sides of the same coin. It’s possible to have borders that are both open and secure." (04/14/12)

"In 1977, Reagan expressed doubt about the 'illegal alien fuss' and suggested that such foreigners were 'doing work our own people won't do.' In 1986, he signed the immigration reform bill that conservatives now revile as 'amnesty.' Clearly the party has undergone a transformation since his day. The question is why." (03/22/12)

"Under the Jim Crow laws, discrimination was not merely legal. It was mandatory. It was illegal for blacks to live, work, and shop in certain places. Virtually everyone today regards this as an enormous injustice. So do I. But I question the claim that modern American policy is vastly morally superior. The American government continues to mandate discrimination against an unpopular minority: illegal immigrants. And this mandatory discrimination is far harsher than anything under Jim Crow."

"The war on illegal immigration is characterized by chronic uncertainty; no one knows exactly how many illegal immigrants reside in the U.S. or precisely what causes their numbers to wax and wane. What is clear, however, is that eliminating illegal immigration creates more and more bureaucratic infrastructure." (for publication 03/12)

"The fact is that the illegals come to work, and do, well and hard, which is why conservative patriotic busnessmen block attempts to restrict immigration. Which would be easy to do. Again, they come to work. Don't hire them, and they won't come. Illegals don't take jobs from Americans. Americans give them the jobs." (02/14/12)

"High-skilled immigrants are sexy. By definition, they possess talents that are rare relative to the skills possessed by the bulk of workers in both developing and developed countries. High-skilled immigrants, therefore, stand apart from other immigrants as well as from most workers in destination countries Government officials and the general public -- largely failing to think seriously about economics and, hence, defaulting into a mercantilist interpretation of the economy -- are more prone to tolerate, or even to encourage, the in-migration of high-skilled workers than of low-skilled workers." (02/14/12)

"Americans have a remarkable history of welcoming immigrants and helping them assimilate. Most Americans can trace their ancestry to another country. But while Americans are magnanimous toward immigrants, federal immigration policy has not been as accommodating. Moreover, the law lags behind economic reality. Demand for immigrant workers has slackened because of the poor economy. Vigorous enforcement efforts have had very little impact." (02/07/12)

"We’ve all heard of the policy centerpiece for immigration-reform proponents, the DREAM Act. The battle over this legislation, which would offer a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants, has labored on for more than a decade now; but, rather than being enacted, the bill has failed repeatedly. Sadly, the legislative battle has stoked animosity instead of intelligent dialogue between opponents and proponents of immigration reform and hardened the resolve of both sides." (01/23/12)

"Well, the GOP candidates had all the correct libertarian, free-market mantras out last night: pro-free enterprise, pro-capitalism, pro-free market, pro-private property, pro-fundamental rights, pro-Constitution, anti-socialism, and anti-regulation. And then came immigration, and all those mantras went out the window." (01/20/12)