Daniel writes “I wrote this post before I heard about World Migration Day, or Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks in commemoration of this day. But it seems in keeping with it’s spirit, so I’m offering it today instead of something on Iraq, Iran or our motion towards an elected monarchy.
For what it’s worth, I’m officially endorsing an open border policy for the United States. What I mean by an “open border” is that everyone entering this country would be required to register with the federal government. Their names would be run against a database of aliens who were convicted of crimes against life or property in the United States. If the alien doesn’t appear on this list, they’re waived through. If they are flagged, they are arrested and if they can’t prove a case of mistaken identity are jailed for a year and deported to their home country.
I believe this system will strengthen US security, lower crime, improve wages and working conditions and ultimately lower the number of permanent aliens. I also think there is a moral case for an open border. Why do I think that? Let’s start with the pragmatic considerations:
Daniel writes “I wrote this post before I heard about World Migration Day, or Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks in commemoration of this day. But it seems in keeping with it’s spirit, so I’m offering it today instead of something on Iraq, Iran or our motion towards an elected monarchy.
For what it’s worth, I’m officially endorsing an open border policy for the United States. What I mean by an “open border” is that everyone entering this country would be required to register with the federal government. Their names would be run against a database of aliens who were convicted of crimes against life or property in the United States. If the alien doesn’t appear on this list, they’re waived through. If they are flagged, they are arrested and if they can’t prove a case of mistaken identity are jailed for a year and deported to their home country.
I believe this system will strengthen US security, lower crime, improve wages and working conditions and ultimately lower the number of permanent aliens. I also think there is a moral case for an open border. Why do I think that? Let’s start with the pragmatic considerations:
- Strengthen US Security – In order to prevent terror attacks, we need as much information about potential terrorists as possible. Some of this information will need to come from the immigrant community. But people in that community have no incentive to come forward if going to the authorities means immediate arrest as an “illegal alien.” Also, by ensuring everyone registers at the border will allow their names to be run against a unified terrorist watch list (if we ever come up with one).
- Lower Crime – Many of the same points made under antiterrorism can be made for crime. People won’t come forward with information about crimes or report crimes if doing so results in arrests and deportations. Police agencies across the country understand this and that’s why so many will not assist INS or ask about documentation status when investigation criminal cases. Still, many undocumented aliens won’t report crimes or come forward as witnesses in criminal cases. Removing the fear of deportation will increase resolution of criminal cases.
- Improve wages and working conditions – Illegal immigration is big business, sometimes facilitated by large firms such as Tyson and other corporations. According to Business Week, undocumented aliens “illegal immigrants now comprise fully half of all farm laborers, up from 12% in 1990, according to a recent Labor Dept. survey. They’re a quarter of workers in the meat and poultry industry, 24% of dishwashers, and 27% of drywall and ceiling tile installers, according to Pew senior research associate Jeffrey S. Passel.” Most of these people work for far less than minimum wage and in horrible conditions. Some undocumented workers labor under slave-like conditions. But if aliens complain, they are turned over to immigration – or worse. Legalizing residence for all would allow us to fully enforce wage and labor laws. This would have two good effects – labor conditions would improve and the costs of foreign labor would go up.
- Lower the number of permanent aliens – I think this would happen for two reasons – 1) As the cost of foreign labor rose as a result of improved wage enforcement, employers would have less incentive to hire aliens and/or facilitate their transport and 2) Undocumented aliens often are afraid to visit their families because they risk losing everything every time they cross the border. Without that fear, they will visit their extended families more often and possibly stay home once they’ve earned enough money for their families. Some will choose to stay in the US, but I doubt most will.
I admit that I don’t have research to back these assertions, but any approach seems to better than our current bipartisan immigration regime which causes the following tangible harms:
- Hundreds die crossing the border each year.
- Families are broken up, contributing to social dysfunction.
- Operation of sweatshops and slave sex trade.
- Waste of resources by imprisoning thousands of people every year whose sole “crime” is violating immigration laws.
- drugs being smuggled in with immigrants.
Our current immigration system generates these harms without solving the problems it’s supposed to solve. So we need to do something different. That’s the pragmatic case for open borders.
The moral case for an open border is simple – The whole earth is God’s and every human being created in His image as His children. We simply do not have the right to decree where any of God’s children can live on God’s earth. This was recognized in the Bible, where the Israelites could regulate the lives of foreigners in their midst, but could not prevent migrants from coming to the land of Israel. In fact, foreigners, along with the poor, were to be afforded special protection. If Egypt had had border controls in the New Testament, Christ would have been slaughtered as a child. If the nations of the known world had restrictive immigration laws, Paul couldn’t have built the Church.
So, now that I’ve offended people on both sides of the political spectrum, what do you think of my idea?”
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