This is part of a series of weekly posts with the most interesting content from the Open Borders Action Group on Facebook. Do join the group to weigh in on existing discussions or start your own (you might want to read this post before joining).

Thought-provoking general questions or general observations

• Scott Sumner on open borders by Carl Shulman, linking to and excerpting from The case for 80% tax rates on the rich by Scott Sumner, The Money Illusion, April 28, 2014. 6 likes, 14 comments.
• Human traffickers wouldn’t have a business if governments didn’t force most prospective immigrants into the arms of smugglers by John Lee, linking to A Smuggler of Immigrants Dies in Prison, but Is Praised in Chinatown by Corey Kilgannon and Jeffrey E. Singer, New York Times, April 27, 2014. 7 likes.
• Open borders as “traditional borders” — appealing to conservatives (particularly in the US context) by Michael Tontchev. 5 likes, 2 comments.
• How (and how quickly) does assimilation occur? by Michelangelo Landgrave. 1 like, 10 comments.
• What do you think of the argument that the very act of migrating shows that people have shallow or fickle national loyalties? by Vipul Naik. 26 comments.

Discussions of specific historical and current situations

• Post by Rob James linking to I Woke Up and My Arm and Leg Were Missing: Victims of the Beast Speak Out. For immigrants riding the world’s most dangerous train, the last stop is freedom—but getting there could kill you by Jan-Albert Hootsen, April 22, 2014. 1 like.
• Post by Vipul Naik linking to Bishops who filed lawsuit against Alabama immigration law feel vindicated by Greg Garrison, AL.com, April 30, 2013. 4 likes, 1 comment.
• Post by Carl Shulman linking to The next Canada? Rich mainland Chinese push New Zealand migration to 11-year high. China is top immigration source for southern nation, with half of all newcomers using investor scheme, some paying up to HK$53m by Adrian Wan, South China Morning Post, April 24, 2014. 3 likes.
• China’s hukou system and its parallels with free migration, no path to citizenship and Friedman’s ideal immigration regime by Carl Shulman linking to The rural-urban divide: Ending apartheid. For China’s reforms to work, its citizens have to be made more equal, The Economist, April 19, 2014.
• Post by John Lee linking to Saving the Asylum System by Alex Nowrasteh, Huffington Post, April 24, 2014.

Outreach and meta

• Ideal location for bumper sticker distribution campaign by Fabio Rojas. 10 comments.
• A case for ostracizing open borders opponents (not endorsed) by John Lee, linking to Opposing Gay Marriage Doesn’t Make You a Crypto-Racist by Jonathan Rauch, The Daily Beast, April 24, 2014. 1 like, 2 comments.
• Refugee claim adjudication in Canada cannot be optimizing for reasonable criteria by Carl Shulman, linking to Refugee claim acceptance in Canada appears to be ‘luck of the draw’ despite reforms, analysis shows by Adrian HUmphreys, National Post, April 15, 2014. 4 likes, 6 comments.

This is part of a series of weekly posts with the most interesting content from the Open Borders Action Group on Facebook. Do join the group to weigh in on existing discussions or start your own (you might want to read this post before joining).

Thought-provoking general questions or general observations

• What are some causes other than open borders where diverse moral views support the cause? by Tiago Santos. 2 likes, 3 comments.
• If you had the power to change one immigration regime in the world to open borders (with suitable keyhole solutions) what would you pick? by Chris Hendrix. 2 likes, 8 comments.
• Bleg for evidence on border patrol abuse and for whether highlighting such abuse would be a good way to win converts to open borders by Ryan P. Long. 1 like, 4 comments.
• Bleg for thoughts on the argument that rich countries have an obligation to let in some immigrants from poor countries but not to open their borders by Vipul Naik. 3 likes, 3 comments.
• Is it better to focus on the rights violations to citizens imposed by immigration restrictions when discussing open borders with a conservative? by Bryan Hayek. 1 like, 3 comments.

Discussions of specific historical and current situations

• Thoughts on the diversity immigrant visa program in the United States by Vipul Naik. 1 like, 4 comments.
• Have US deportations actually dropped? by Fabio Rojas, linking to Court Deportations Drop 43 Percent in Past Five Years by Julia Preston, New York Times, April 16, 2014. 1 like, 6 comments.

Outreach and meta

• How much importance should be given to emphasizing the universal nature of the case for open borders when asked if one supports a particular country having open borders? by Vipul Naik. 2 likes, 7 comments.
• Post about a debate on open borders at Reason’s DC headquarters, April 22, 6 PM (reach by 5:45 PM). 4 likes, 3 comments.
• Suggestions for a banner photo to use for Open Borders Action Group by Vipul Naik. 0 likes, 2 comments.

This is part of a series of weekly posts with the most interesting content from the Open Borders Action Group on Facebook. Do join the group to weigh in on existing discussions or start your own (you might want to read this post before joining).

Thought-provoking general questions or general observations

• Post by Ilya Somin linking to his blog post Do illegal immigrants have an obligation to obey laws banning them from entering the United States?, Volokh Conspiracy, April 7, 2014. 24 likes, 9 comments.
• How much social value do human smugglers and coyotes create? by Vipul Naik. 5 likes, 16 comments.
• How might a widely read restrictionist announce publicly a change of mind in the open borders direction? by Vipul Naik. 5 likes, 6 comments.
• Would natives of immigrant-receiving countries (specifically the United States) be willing to sacrifice some personal liberty (through things such as a broader e-verify mandate or a national ID) in exchange for greater freedom of migration? by Michelangelo Landgrave, inspired by recent remarks by Rand Paul. 3 likes, 11 comments.
• Human capabilities case for open borders bleg by Vipul Naik. 7 likes, 1 comment.

Discussions of specific historical and current situations

• Post by Ryan P. Long on the experiences of emigrants and the effects of emigration, linking to the article Diaspora Existentialism: The Psychology of Zambians Living Abroad by George N. Mtonga, Lusaka Times, April 8, 2014. 6 likes, 3 comments.
• Link to a news story about a failed border-crossing stunt by an Italian far-right group that would later turn out to be fake.
• Post by Johnny Roccia about a deportation story, linking to I Served My Country. Then It Kicked Me Out. I was a veteran, a father and husband and a small-business owner. Then I was deported. by Howard Dean Bailey, Politico, April 10, 2014. 3 likes, 1 comment.
• Open borders between Australia and New Zealand by Joseph Bonneau. 4 likes, 7 comments.
• Post by Anna Krupitsky on comments by Jeb Bush about immigration as an act of love, referencing the article Jeb Bush tells Fox News illegal immigration ‘not a felony, it’s an act of love’ by Tom Tillison, April 7, 2014. 8 likes, 9 comments.

Outreach and meta

• Pros and cons of a dedicated fund for open borders by Vipul Naik. 2 likes, 4 comments.
• Websites on open borders in other languages by Vipul Naik, linking to Offene Grenzen, the German open borders website that launched on Open Borders Day. 7 likes, 7 comments.
• Open Borders crosses the 500 follower mark on Twitter by John Lee. 5 likes. The Twitter account mentioned is @OpenBordersInfo.
• Bleg for advice to high school student passionate about open borders by Vipul Naik. 1 like, 5 comments.

This is part of a series of weekly posts with the most interesting content from the Open Borders Action Group on Facebook. Do join the group to weigh in on existing discussions or start your own (you might want to read this post before joining).

Thought-provoking general questions or general observations

• The moral legitimacy of brain drain as a reason for immigration restrictions by John Lee.
• What the practicality of immigration enforcement reveals about its morality by Vipul Naik.
• Why desperation-based migration should be separated into “political” and “economic” migration by Anna Krupitsky, links to The Dilemma Of Desperation Migration by Joseph Chamie, YaleGlobal, 14 November 2013.

Discussions of specific historical or current situations

• Taiwan-China trade treaty by Michelangelo Landgrave.

Hypotheticals

• What would happen if US President Barack Obama issued an executive order to stop deportations by Vipul Naik.
• What would happen if the US Congress agreed to a one-time amnesty to be executed in the near future by Henryk A. Kowalczyk.
• Hypothetical scenario of a coordinated global move to steadily open the borders by Vipul Naik.

Outreach and meta

• Summer 2015 activity for Open Borders: bumper sticker by Fabio Rojas.
• What should a newbie to Open Borders do? by Evan Gaensbauer.

This is part of a series of weekly posts with the most interesting content from the Open Borders Action Group on Facebook. Do join the group to weigh in on existing discussions or start your own (you might want to read this post before joining).

Thought-provoking general questions or general observations

• Relation between the extent to which wealth depends on fixed resources and attitudes to migration by Vipul Naik.
• What lessons are there for open borders advocacy from research showing that counter-intuitive statements are best explained by first spelling out the wrong view and then showing why it’s wrong? by Vipul Naik, links to the Veritasium video Khan Academy and the Effective of Science Videos that summarizes the relevant research.
• Post by Grieve Chelwa about the blog post Think Development in Poor Countries Will Reduce Migration? The Numbers Say Otherwise by Michael Clemens, Center for Global Development blog, March 24, 2014.

Discussions of specific historical or current situations

• Post by Carl Shulman (with lots of comments) discussing the article Why open borders should be the West’s peaceful response to Russian aggression by Guy Bentley, City A. M., March 26, 2014.
• Post by Carl Shulman discussing the article China’s cities: The great transition: The government is right to reform the “hukou” system, but it needs to be braver on The Economist, March 22, 2014.
• Post by Carl Shulman (with lots of comments) discussing the article Putin vows to halt Russia’s population plunge with babies, immigrants by Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, February 14, 2012.
• Russian videos on statements by return migrants, and a possible explanation as propaganda related to combat the large numbers of people wanting to leave Russia, as evidenced by the number of asylum applications from Russia by Anna Krupitsky. Links to this report on number of asylum-seekers.