Immigration

The federal government didn't take charge of immigration policy until the 1880s. In the early republic, almost everyone agreed that immigration policy was a matter for the states.

Immigration is an economic issue among others, and the reality is that resources are finite.

For all the political rhetoric about building “affordable housing,” the reality is housing prices will only go up, and tariffs will contribute to the increase.

Remittances—financial transfers from migrants to their home countries—are often lauded as a driver of economic growth in developing nations. While remittances provide short-term relief for recipient households, their overall impact on economic growth remains questionable.

Whether illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, or birthright citizenship, or migrants coming from the Middle East and Africa, the subject of immigration is an issue fraught with potentially perilous consequences. So it is especially important to understand it correctly.

Economist Bryan Caplan has held up the United Arab Emirates as an example of how open borders can be successful. Caplan clearly does not understand how immigration works in the UAE.

One does not need to be an advocate of open borders to have concerns when one hears about a federal law enforcement agency engaging in a “crackdown.”

Economist Bryan Caplan has held up the United Arab Emirates as an example of how open borders can be successful. Caplan clearly does not understand how immigration works in the UAE.

For years I have held up Venezuela in my economics classes as an example of bad government policy.

The political zeitgeist is to embrace protectionism, leading some who support free trade to embrace open borders. However, as Murray Rothbard explained, people and societies are complex entities and what may work for trade does not work for open immigration.