Immigration continues to be an issue in the forefront. Trump won the presidency for several reasons, including good timing, but there is no question that his stand on immigration resonated with many conservatives, and even some libertarians.
Immigration is a tough issue to deal with for libertarians. It is probably the one issue where libertarians disagree even more than abortion.
The reason it is a tough issue is because we live in a state-dominated world. When the government has an interventionist foreign policy and a massive welfare state, immigration becomes more contentious. In a more decentralist society with stronger property rights, I believe immigration would be an easier issue for libertarians to deal with.
It is like asking a libertarian if he favors prayer in public schools. Someone can have a personal opinion on the matter, but libertarians agree (or should agree) that schools should not be funded or run by the government. In a free society, it would be up to each individual school whether they want prayer in their school. It might depend on the opinions of their customers.
And so it is with immigration. We are dealing with government borders and massive intervention in terms of foreign policy and state welfare. How is one supposed to take a position on immigration in this non-libertarian world? This is why some libertarians will argue that we can’t allow open immigration as long as we have a welfare state, while others will argue that we shouldn’t have to wait for an end to government welfare before allowing people into the country.
Regardless of where you come down on this issue, I don’t think immigration to the United States is going to stop, and I don’t think most Americans, including conservatives, will have the willpower to stop immigration.
The first thing you have to realize is that the government is not capable of stopping immigration with its current resources. It can perhaps slow things down. But even if a wall were built on the border with Mexico, people will find a way around it (or over it, or under it, or through it).
Considering that the federal government is running trillion dollar deficits with massive unfunded liabilities staring everyone in the face, I don’t see where the extra money is going to come from to stop immigration. It is one thing to build a wall, and it is another thing to actually station guards all across the border to make sure the barriers are not breached.
Conservatives Love the Welfare State More
It is easy for conservatives to talk about stopping immigration just the same as it is easy for the left to talk about socialism. When push comes to shove, they have bigger priorities.
The massive unfunded liabilities are mostly made up of Medicare and Social Security. It is going to be impossible for the federal government to keep its promises to senior citizens (and residents). There is going to be a major haircut for these programs. It will likely be a combination of raising the eligible age, reducing payouts, and tax hikes. We can also be certain that the powers-that-be will try to use inflation as a means of hidden default, which it has already been doing to a certain extent.
The government is going to need workers paying taxes, and the government can’t control birth rates easily. One way to increase the number of workers as compared to retirees is to allow more immigration. If seniors – and this includes politically conservative seniors – are given a choice between more immigration and cuts in Social Security, which one do you think most of them are going to choose?
One of the complaints about immigrants is that they come here and collect welfare. I have always found this puzzling because if government welfare actually did help people, then it is more appropriate that some poor Mexican guy with no money and few skills gets welfare instead of an American who has just been too lazy to find good work for many years. I’m not saying that there aren’t struggling Americans who work hard. But when it comes to the very basics of putting food on the table, you would think there would be more sympathy for someone who literally has almost nothing and has never had much opportunity.
Even still, I rarely hear conservatives suggest that we eliminate all welfare for immigrants. But what if an immigrant would prefer the choice of coming to the United States with no government welfare over the choice of not being allowed across the border at all?
Although I believe we should eliminate the welfare state for everybody, I would be in favor of eliminating it just for immigrants in the meantime. But this leads to a slippery road for any non-libertarians.
Are we going to deny welfare to the point that hospitals don’t have to take care of immigrants when they show up at the emergency room? Are we going to deny their kids going to public (government) school?
Of course, hospitals could still voluntarily take care of immigrants who show up with no money. Private schools could still help the children of immigrants by offering discounts or scholarships. And the immigrants can certainly pay for these or any other services out of their own pockets.
But it puts all non-libertarians in a predicament. It points out that the government schools are welfare. It would show that immigrants are able to survive without government handouts.
Whether conservatives will admit it or not, they favor the welfare state. They just want it to be their version of the welfare state. And that is why they aren’t going to stop immigration. If they truly wanted a reduction in immigration and for only hardworking individuals to immigrate here, then they would be calling for a massive defunding of the welfare state.