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Thomas Sowell (website, Wikipedia page) is a wide-ranging researcher and writer on economic and social issues. Sowell’s views on migration appear to have evolved in a more anti-migration direction over time.
Sowell’s research on migration
Sowell studied migration around the world and its effect on culture. Some of the pages on the site are based on data collated by Sowell.
Sowell’s praise of Julian Simon
Sowell has written favorably about Julian Simon, author of The Ultimate Resource. Sowell praised Simon’s insights on population and Simon’s research conclusions that the world was not running out of resources. Simon also used this reasoning to make the case that freer migration could be beneficial in a wide range of circumstances, both to migrants and the countries receiving the migrants. Although Simon wasn’t quite pro-open borders, he came fairly close, and Sowell greatly admired Simon.
Recent writings critical of immigration
In recent years, however, Sowell has written a number of anti-immigration pieces. Some of these pieces, and pages on the site referring to them, are listed below:
- Newt’s ‘Humane’ Immigration Policy, referenced at the citizenism page as evidence of Sowell’s citizenist-like leanings.
- Two pieces by Sowell about his view on the “illegal immigrant” nomenclature, quoted at the nomenclature page.
- Abstract Immigrants, critiqued by Alex Nowrasteh in Thomas Sowell on Immigration.
- Immigration Taboos, quoted at the page immigrants do jobs natives won’t do.
- Paul Ryan’s argument for immigration reform ‘utter nonsense’ (making a similar argument as “Immigration Taboos”) was critiqued by Alex Nowrasteh at Thomas Sowell on the Economics of Immigration.
Critiques of Sowell’s anti-immigration arguments
- Has the era of a mass migration come to a close? by Vipul Naik, September 22, 2012, on the Open Borders blog.
- Thomas Sowell on the Economics of Immigration (originally published at the Cato blog, July 19, 2013).
- Thomas Sowell on Immigration (originally published at the Cato blog, July 22, 2013).