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.

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).

Blegs with thought-provoking general questions

• Bleg for thoughts on questions to ask a Canadian law firm for a special blog post for the Open Borders site by Nathan Smith.
• In an open borders world, how would one argue for re-introducing immigration restrictions? by Johnny Roccia, posed as an ideological Turing test question.
• How might migrants be selected relative to source and destination countries, in theory and in practice, under the status quo and under open borders? by Vipul Naik.
• Would open borders for immigration lead to closed borders for emigration? by Anna Krupitsky. This was later blogged by Bryan Caplan on EconLog here.
• Are migration restrictions analogous to forbidding existing cures for physical disabilities? by Johnny Roccia.

Discussions of specific historical or current situations

• Open borders between Nepal and India by Vipul Naik. This served as the basis for a blog post on the subject.
• Internal migration in India by Vipul Naik (link also shared in the link roundup).
• Why is the Indian government unwilling to grant legal residency to Hindus from Pakistan? by Vipul Naik, linking to this article.
• Is gratitude to natives for welcoming migrants a good strategy to make natives more pro-migration? by Vipul Naik, based on an article about South Africans thanking Australian natives for welcoming them.

Material to use for advocacy

• Open Borders poster featuring Bryan Caplan, a quote of his, and the Open Borders logo by Daniel Shiner (high-resolution version).
• “Some people weren’t born here. Get over it.” (slogan by Oliver Beatson).
• Link to Migration Story.

Event invitations

• Montreal debate on open borders.

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).

• Carl Shulman’s post linking to and excerpting from an interview Bill Gates gave to Rolling Stone.
• Should the Open Borders site continue to serve as a clearinghouse of ideas or shift towards concentrating on advocacy of the specific most promising strategies?
• Can the consumption benefits of Open Borders become a liability?
• Does Liberty in North Korea achieve what it says it does, and if it does, then is it a top choice for altruists interested in migration?
• How valid is the analogy between immigration restrictions and forbidding people from access to cures for diseases?