This is a libertarian* response to some of the anti-open borders arguments that stem from concerns about the harms to immigrant-sending countries such as brain drain and delay of political reform. The claim is that, even if there are some harms to others due to an individual’s choice to migrate, these harms are not sufficient … Continue reading Self-ownership versus state ownership
The right of a people to determine its own fate—national self-determination—is one of pillars of the Westphalian model of world political order holding nation-state sovereignty as its core principle. It also underpins most philosophical defenses of the right of nation to control who moves across its borders and who can join its citizenry. Here at … Continue reading The illusion of self-determination
Technology has altered migration patterns many times. New modes of transportation– railroads, faster and safer ships, cars, airplanes– made migration cheaper and easier. The internet and cheap international telephony have made it easier for migrants to stay plugged in to their home countries, and possibly discourage assimilation among migrants, though on the other hand, modern … Continue reading Self-driving cars and undocumented immigration
Many aspects of the current American immigration system and the attitudes that support it are troubling. There is the death and suffering the system inflicts on people simply wanting to improve their lives by moving to a different location on the planet. There is the discrimination against people based on nothing else than their place of … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and Immigration Restrictions
I do not want to equate the evil of chattel slavery with the evil of immigration restrictions. They may or may not be equal in one person’s experience or another’s, but I am not out to make a claim one way or another. I want to avoid at all costs what Elizabeth Martinez terms an … Continue reading The Practice of Immigration Law as Manumission
The Practice of Immigration Law as Manumission is licensed by Steven Sacco under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.