Help support the antidote to utopian neglect.
I won’t beat around the bush. We need your support.
A conservative magazine and publication must stand for eternal truths and common sense against utopianism, especially when that utopianism comes in the form of a scam.
Open borders represent a utopian future desired by progressives and some libertarians, but they ultimately result in a scheme that undermines the meaning of citizenship, the rule of law, and fair labor-market competition in the United States. The idea promises a world without the accidents of birth and history impinging on human destinies but results in a reality where the law of the land does not protect everyone residing in it. It promises cultural enrichment but leads to balkanization and alienation. The effort to circumvent the laws that guard nations and nationality itself creates a legal gray zone where criminality spreads — from the so-called undocumented and their employers to all their friends and associates — and cooperation with law enforcement diminishes.
National Review does not belong to any faction of the right, but it has remained stalwart in defending our borders. If you believe NR matters in those fights, please consider contributing to our fall webathon.
We have made the case, against the spirit of the times, for an immigration policy that serves the interests of the American people — interests not reducible to the GDP. The American people and their government have interests in social cohesion, and even in some demographic continuity between generations. They have an interest in maintaining their living standards, their republican tradition of equal citizenship, and their unique culture, which stands out: doggedly modern yet devout, ambitiously entrepreneurial yet neighborly.
In tough years, we have harried administrations for their attempts to blur the distinctions between citizens and aliens. We have called out the quasi-amnesties and documented the unjust burdens this neglect of the border has placed on American cities and citizens alike. More recently, we have championed President Trump’s executive orders and policies that have brought order to the border. We have called out Democrats for their hysterical (and hypocritical) attacks on ICE agents, attacks that contribute to the febrile atmosphere in which our law enforcement officers are being attacked. And we are not done yet.
This country still needs immigration reform — a complete overhaul of the 60-year-old system that was put in place under false pretenses and with false promises. We need reform that recognizes the new world we are in, where the cost of emigration has dropped precipitously and where prime nations like ours must discriminate in favor of those who truly meet the standards we set, whether those standards are for admission of talent or asylum seekers. The only truly humane immigration system is one that is orderly and transparent. The only truly generous asylum system is one that recognizes its own limits.
If you agree that commonsense care for our border is the antidote to utopian neglect, then please, give generously to our fall webathon. Thank you for your support.
