For a somewhat wider view of the immigration (both legal and illegal) issue
than we generally get in US discussions, I recommend Corner readers take a
browse in these web pages.
Yes, it’s the BBC, which is a leftist organization hostile to the
nation-state. There are some good personal stories here, though, and a good
exchange involving Mark Krikorian, who often writes on this topic for us.
(Click on “Should there be open borders?” in the right-hand sidebar.)
Closing exchange between the moderator and Mark:
–Jill McGivering:
Well obviously not everyone is trying to migrate but I suppose it also
brings in a philosophical question and we did have one question essentially
saying basically isn’t this a human right, if the quality of your life is to
a major extent determined by where you’re born isn’t economic migration a
basic human right?
–Mark Krikorian:
Well if it were then the logical conclusion would be that nations are not –
there is no concept of a nation state, they’re not sovereign and people are
free to move wherever they want and that the economic standards in the
developed world need to be lowered until they reach the standards of
everywhere else in the world. You can take that position, I reject it and
I’d have to say that the overwhelming majority of the citizens of the
developed world reject that. So it’s really a question more of democracy –
do the people of the United States or the EU or Japan get to decide what
happens to themselves or does someone else decide what happens to their
societies? And I vote for democracy, people may vote in a different way.