The Benefits of Open Immigration

With the start of the 111th Congress, not only new issues, but old unresolved issues are sure to be debated. One of those could be immigration reform. Obviously, it has been a pretty hot topic over the last couple of years and is likely to resurface in the near future. It's important to know what is and what is not good immigration policy. For that, I give you an article from The Freeman from 1995 titled "Coming to America: The Benefits of Open Immigration," found here. The introduction:

For centuries, the American culture has been a beacon of hope to the oppressed peoples of collectivist economies and authoritarian or totalitarian governments throughout the world. Why then do the American people—descendants of immigrants, beneficiaries of open and unregulated immigration, whose culture, economy, government, and way of life are so deeply tied to open borders—exude such a passion against free immigration? Why do they wish so desperately to deny late twentieth-century immigrants the benefits to which their own eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ancestors were privileged? What do Americans have against open borders?

American immigration policy is a labyrinth of regulations and barriers to free travel and migration. One wishing to enter this country must possess all the legal and “proper” documentation in order to be permitted entry. The poverty-stricken and homeless foreigners who expect to benefit most from immigrating into the American economy rarely possess resources adequate for legal entry. Hence, they are denied. Such immigration policy is based upon a xenophobic confusion regarding economics, the mobility of labor, the American welfare state, and cultural diversity.