This past Monday evening Virginia Tech was graced with an appearance by Tom Tancredo, a former Republican Congressman and 2008 presidential candidate.
His speech was given on so-called illegal immigration, and it was ironically sponsored by a group named Young Americans for Freedom. I'm unsure exactly how the tern "freedom" can be used along with the nationalistic concept of border control, but nothing really surprises me anymore. The term "freedom" is used by conservatives and liberals to make expansions of government seem less tyrannical.
I would like to start by stating that the term "illegal immigration" is one that I challenge semantically in the same manner that I challenge other politically driven terms such as "pro-life" or "pro-choice." In order for something to be considered illegal, the implication is that there was a crime committed. Immigration of any kind is victimless, and these kind of crimes have no place in a nation built on freedom. The conservative movement would have us all believe that immigration done outside of the federal government's snail-paced legal way is somehow damaging to the American economy and culture. I'd prefer not to re-iterate their entire argument as I feel it's something most of us already know. Immigration is a very popular topic amongst news commentators.
These conservative types do believe that somehow immigrants from Mexico take American jobs and leech off social welfare programs. I guess my libertarian response would be to get rid of the social welfare programs.
However, my response to the claim that Mexican immigrants are taking away American jobs would have to start by questioning whether conservatives are dedicated to the free market principles they speak so highly of.
It's impossible to have a free market in a nation with secure borders and labor control of this magnitude. Business owners should be allowed to hire any person they want at any time they want. Free markets have to be synonymous with actual freedom.
The jobs that companies have available don't belong to American citizens, nor do the companies themselves belong to the American government simply because they fall within the American border.
Making the claim that immigrants from Mexico are taking away American jobs would have to imply both ownership of the company and those jobs by the American people and their government. This is absolutely an anti-free market concept.
It's also extremely unfair to pretend that somehow mass immigration is bad for an economy. The beauty of a free market is that it will grow and expand, and the demand for jobs should increase along with population growth. If the growth of jobs isn't correlating with population growth, this is a sign that too much state control is present. It's also fair to note that many so-called illegal immigrants have fake social security numbers and pay income taxes. Most also pay property taxes and sales taxes. Many immigrants have the same right to government services that any of us have. Not every American pays their taxes either.
Even if you don't buy the argument that immigration is healthy for an economy, I hope that most people can understand that increased border security can only mean a rise in the police state.
There are already so-called border checkpoints that Americans are forced to go through. These checkpoints are often hundreds of miles from the border, and are nothing more than an excuse for the government to invade liberty in the name of a new enemy-the Mexican immigrant.
In order for the government to keep up the war on immigration, drugs and terrorism at the border, we'll all need to prepare to show our papers and give up a bit of privacy. Just like their futile war on drugs, the state will be unable to keep immigrants from entering America without documentation. Instead their security theatre will serve only to make immigration more violent by surrounding the practice with organized crime and desperation.
The federal government can never stop people from entering this country, and I don't even see a need to try. A free nation should have borders that are open and accessible to anyone who wishes to cross. Border security will only lead to less economic growth through regulation, and less freedoms for those of us who already live within the fortress of America.
The government could solve the immigration problem by privatizing welfare programs and ending police state restrictions that require identification and permission to simply open up a business and hire workers. All this serves to do is to stifle entrepreneurship and take away economic liberties. Simply because I was lucky enough to be born to the United States does not mean that I am any more American than someone who chooses to cross the border and live this country. Like nearly everyone else in America, I am a descendant of immigrants. Just because an immigrant from Mexico has found a way to stay out of the government databases does not make them a criminal.
I am envious of their ability to make a living without the state keeping a watchful eye on them. They certainly are experiencing a level of freedom that I simply cannot. The law forbids it.