Battle4Liberty

Libertarians and conservatives agree on many issues. When it comes to economics, both groups generally favor free markets, although there are some divisions. I tend to side with the libertarians on most of these issues, but immigration is an exception, not for ideological reasons but for pragmatic ones.

Libertarians are strong ideological proponents of open borders. The notion of individual liberty cannot coexist with arbitrary borders. Besides, they argue, immigrants often bring skills and a work ethic that can help an economy grow. But many economists have produced strong evidence that illegal immigration is a huge economic drain. For example, the Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector estimates that granting amnesty to 4 million illegal immigrants will cost the U.S. an estimated $2 trillion. The average education level in this group is tenth grade, so most will be low income earners and will contribute far less to the system than they take, creating losses with regard to Social Security, Medicare, public education, health care, and other government services.

Both sides are valid in this argument, but the traditional libertarian argument is flawed because it starts with a blank slate. Put another way, their argument assumes freedom in other sectors of the economy as well. One of the twentieth centuries greatest economists, libertarian-leaning Milton Friedman, encapsulated the problem in his famous retort, “You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state.”

Friedman’s comment is simple and clear, but seems to be forgotten in the contemporary argument. The left argues for amnesty on emotional and pseudo-economic terms. On the emotional side, opposition to unfettered immigration is couched as “breaking up families.” Taken to its logical extension, this is an argument for no borders because chain migration has no end. On the economic side, we are told that more immigrants are needed to keep the Social Security system solvent. This claim proves that Social Security was never “insurance” or a “trust fund” in the first place, but instead transfers money from one group of citizens to another. Moreover, it should be needless to say that adding low-income contributors might help in the short run, but it will only intensify the long-term disaster when these individuals begin drawing more than the put in.

Interestingly, Friedman actually resolved this dilemma by offering an intriguing point: Our nation really benefits from illegal—not legal—immigration because illegal immigrants are (in theory) unable to access costly government benefits. They simply come and work hard. This is no longer true, as illegals can get EITC, drivers licenses, bank accounts, health care, public education, and other services regardless of their status. Without dialing back these benefits, illegal immigration is an economic drain. This is where many libertarians miss the point. They end up siding with crony corporatists who see open borders because they result in cheap labor, thereby passing much of the real costs along to taxpayers.

To my libertarian friends, I’m okay with immigration, but let’s get a hold on the current situation by securing the border and eliminating immigrant benefits first. Friedman was right.