libertyandbondage asked: Just curious ~ you've said you disagree with Ron Paul on immigration... now I don't know his stance on the issue, but I really like his economic arguments and tend to favor his foreign policy over the hard-line Conservative arguments, generally. The question is this: what is your opinion about immigration? (and perhaps Paul's too, because I'm not sure of that).
Let me begin with the second question. Ron Paul’s position on immigration is well-summarized in this article from him or on Wikipedia. Essentially it’s:
- Focus on our own border control instead of policing other nations; this may entail some fence building
- No amnesty
- The welfare state attracts and subsidizes illegal immigration
- End birthright citizenship
I’m not totally in disagreement with him. For instance, I think he’s absolutely right that the welfare state plays a very significant role in making illegal immigration a problem, and that we can’t have both open borders and a welfare system. I also would rather our military stop its foreign adventurism for some constitutionally legitimate national defense, which would sometimes include border patrol.
I have mixed feelings on the birthright citizenship idea. I could see that going very well or very poorly. I suspect in practice it would be less of a big deal than people think, but also that without the welfare state attraction, it would be a moot point. So I’d rather axe the welfare than the citizenship.
Finally, it’s on the “no amnesty” position where I really differ from Ron Paul. As a libertarian, I (and he) accept that the government has no right to tell me how to eat, what to smoke, where to worship, or how to make a living — to name just a few points. So my question is, why should it be able to tell me where I can and cannot live? It seems to me that if someone wishes to sell or rent me a house or employ me in their business, it’s our right to make that contract regardless of the government’s opinion that I’m “illegal.”
So while I do think it’s important that we know who exactly is coming to live here, except for known criminals (including terrorists), I don’t think we should prevent anyone from doing so. And on the Augustinian principle that “an unjust law is no law at all,” I have no objection to providing amnesty for those already here.
To be fair to Ron Paul, he is from Texas, where anti-immigration sentiment runs very high. Everyone has a few blind spots, and his immigration policy isn’t awful (much better than many Republicans); it’s just not my own.
