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Now Playing at Reason.tv: Jason Riley on Immigrants—Let Them In Already!
The title of Jason L. Riley's new book helps explain why it has proven so controversial: Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders.
Let Them In is as exhaustively researched as it is eminently readable. Riley, a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, runs through the six biggest anti-immigration arguments at play in today's heated political world—and finds them wanting.
Earlier this summer, Riley sat down with reason.tv's Nick Gillespie to discuss the leading myths about the causes and effects of immigration.
Click below to watch this approximately five-minute interview.
And for a longer, more-detailed discussion of Riley's book and immigration policy, click below (approximately 25 minutes).
For more information, videos, and to embed these videos on your own site, go to reason.tv.
To download MP3s of the short and long versions of these interviews, go here.
Ska|8.5.08 @ 12:47PM|#
Earlier this summer, Riley sat down earlier this
summer
Might want to change that.
brandon|8.5.08 @ 12:48PM|#
I'm open to being persuaded otherwise, but erasing our border with Mexico is the plank of libertarianism to which I am least agreeable.
El Guapo de San Diegito|8.5.08 @ 12:55PM|#
It's absolutely insane to have open immigration and welfare
state simultaneously. Adding insult to injury the
reconquista folks simply view immigration as a means of
setting up a separate polity in the Southwest looking to
reestablish a Latin area with autonomy wholly independent of the
United States. It's a standard 5th column subversion ploy. Frankly,
we should be shooting each and every individual crossing the border
illegally. This would instantly stop all this nonsense of
cross-desert treks and the tide of illegal immigration.
The fact that libertarians can't see this simple fact of reality is
mind-boggling.
Be a REAL Nut!|8.5.08 @ 12:57PM|#
Tell us about the North American Union.And the Bilderberger Group! Or whatever its called.
Guy Montag|8.5.08 @ 1:02PM|#
Now Playing at Reason.tv: Jason Riley on Immigrants-Let Them In Already!
We already do that. Amazingly, a very similar term is used, called
immigration.
Perhaps the guest is advocating unlimited immigration or
some variant?
|8.5.08 @ 1:29PM|#
Guy,
I also advocate unlimited prices for basic goods. I have
faith that the free market will find the correct level for prices,
as they will for immigration.
|8.5.08 @ 1:34PM|#
Is there a difference between "open" and "secure" borders? i.e., we know who is coming across and for what purpose? Or are we simply talking about eliminating the border crossing guards (etc) altogether?
|8.5.08 @ 1:38PM|#
Let's get rid of the terrible visa system and start taxing immigration. Bam! Welfare state problem solved!
|8.5.08 @ 1:45PM|#
Adding insult to injury the reconquista folks simply view immigration as a means of setting up a separate polity in the Southwest looking to reestablish a Latin area with autonomy wholly independent of the United States. It's a standard 5th column subversion ploy.
There are even fewer Reconquistos than there are libertarians, and
look how much power we have! Worrying about the
reconquista is like being afraid of an impending
government takeover by Breatharians.
But do tell us more about this "reality" thing you know so much
about.
|8.5.08 @ 1:46PM|#
I have faith that the free market will find the correct
level for prices, as they will for immigration.
That's what Spain thought, too. Didn't quite
work out that way.
Orange Line Special|8.5.08 @ 1:49PM|#
Any form of HighlyOpenImmigration - whether no border at all or
just letting almost everyone come here - contradicts the other
libertarian tenet of providing a national defense. That
HighlyOpenImmigration would have this
impact. The ideology that says they'd protect the U.S. would
lead to the U.S. no longer existing.
So, there's more than just a conflict: their ideology is
irretrievably flawed.
Further, Jason Riley is an
idiot.
The way to deal with this is to discredit people like Riley and
have an impact on their careers. If Riley would like to debate me
on this issue I'd be more than willing to do that.
Guy Montag|8.5.08 @ 2:06PM|#
Is there a difference between "open" and "secure" borders?
i.e., we know who is coming across and for what purpose? Or are we
simply talking about eliminating the border crossing guards (etc)
altogether?
To me there is.
I am an advocate of quota-free visas and do not want to be lumped
in with the open borders crowd.
And, no, I do not care one bit of the demographic makeup of the
country changes at all.
|8.5.08 @ 2:22PM|#
Nick Gillespie --
Thanks for finally providing an edited version of these longer
interviews. Appreciate having the choice. Strong work!
Michael|8.5.08 @ 2:26PM|#
That's what Spain thought, too. Didn't quite work out that
way.
I think the last paragraph in the article you linked pretty much
sums up why Spain has such a huge problem in the first place.
Orange Line Special|8.5.08 @ 2:51PM|#
Jake Boone engages in a StrawmanArgument: There are even
fewer Reconquistos than there are libertarians
Only about 13% (IIRC) of Hispanics graduating from UCLA in one year
took part in MEChA's racially segregated GraduationCeremony. The
problem is that people like that go on to become
"CommunityLeaders", such as former MEChAMembers AntonioVillaraigosa
and GilCedillo. The former is mostly an empty suit, but the latter
has actually spewed MEChAStyle comments, as have many other
MexicanAmerican leaders. And, they have a following.
No one's saying that all or most of those crossing the border are
deliberately setting out to reclaim lands, but a majority do
believe that part of our country shouldn't belong to us (source:
ZogbyPoll). People with those beliefs can be demagogued into
supporting something that some of their leaders want. After a
certain CriticalMass, those leaders would start hinting at
"SelfDetermination", and with enough people from the same country
in one region history shows that something like that has a strong
possibility of happening.
|8.5.08 @ 2:55PM|#
"I think the last paragraph in the article you linked pretty
much sums up why Spain has such a huge problem in the first
place."
I didn't even get to the last paragraph. As soon as I saw talk in
the first paragrpah about advanced pay of benefits, I knew why they
were there, why Spain wants them gone, and why immigrants might now
want to leave.
Why is it that we keep coming back the welfare issue? If they were
here for welfare and that was what kept them here, why don't we
hear about crackdowns at the welfare office? Instead, we talk about
raids at work etc and crackdowns on those hiring illegals as a way
to drive them home.
|8.5.08 @ 3:00PM|#
Orange Line Special | August 5, 2008, 1:49pm | #
Further, Jason Riley is an idiot.
Ahhh, I love the smell of irony in the morning.
Great interview. Jason Riley rocks.
Orange Line Special, OTH, has a brain full of rocks.
zoltan|8.5.08 @ 3:21PM|#
If they were here for welfare and that was what kept them
here, why don't we hear about crackdowns at the welfare
office?
Thank you!
Michael|8.5.08 @ 4:19PM|#
Why is it that we keep coming back the welfare issue? If
they were here for welfare and that was what kept them here, why
don't we hear about crackdowns at the welfare office? Instead, we
talk about raids at work etc and crackdowns on those hiring
illegals as a way to drive them home.
Because more people come to the United States for work than they do
welfare, perhaps? I don't know for sure. The article you linked to
was about a situation in Spain, and I would imagine that Spain's
public assistance is at least a bit more generous than the various
systems of the U.S.
|8.5.08 @ 4:23PM|#
OLS/LoneRacist,
When someone points out that you're a fucking moron, that doesn't
count as a "shout-out."
Here's an example, to help you out:
You're a fucking moron.
|8.5.08 @ 4:27PM|#
It wasn't me who posted the link to the article about Spain. I was only trying to point out that they don't seem to immigrate here for welfare, evidenced by the fact that we only hear about illegal crackdowns at places they work. I agree that we don't want to have a system of open immigration that allows people to become citizens right away, with rights to welfare. I just don't think welfare is the reason immigrants come here. They come to work.
Mike Laursen|8.5.08 @ 6:16PM|#
No one's saying that all or most of those crossing the
border are deliberately setting out to reclaim lands, but ... that
something like that has a strong possibility of
happening.
All highly speculative, and countered by evidence, presented in our
very own reason magazine that Hispanic immigrants
assimilate thoroughly within three generations.
Doc|8.5.08 @ 6:54PM|#
Three words: Black. Leather. Coat.
Darling, it's not a look, it's an affectation.
aRealNut|8.5.08 @ 7:17PM|#
Stuart Mackenzie: Well, it's a well known fact, Sonny Jim, that
there's a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the
world, known as The Pentavirate, who run everything in the world,
including the newspapers, and meet tri-annually at a secret country
mansion in Colorado, known as The Meadows.
Tony Giardino: So who's in this Pentavirate?
Stuart Mackenzie: The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The
Rothschilds, and Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Oh, I
hated the Colonel with is wee beady eyes, and that smug look on his
face. "Oh, you're gonna buy my chicken! Ohhhhh!"
GILMORE|8.5.08 @ 8:08PM|#
Doc | August 5, 2008, 6:54pm | #
Three words: Black. Leather. Coat.
Darling, it's not a look, it's an affectation.
No, it's a symbiotic alien that infects its host with libertarian
suaveness and SideBurnsOfPower
LoneWacko has never debated anyone, ever. It's a running joke.
GILMORE|8.5.08 @ 8:13PM|#
in fact = can OLS/DoucheMasterFlex even address any of the
assertions this dude presents in his interview? No. He doesnt even
try.
I actually like the guy on some level. At least he helps make the
idiocy of his case obvious to a wide spectrum of people. I bet he
even rubs nativist racists wrong. :)
Orange Line Special|8.5.08 @ 8:50PM|#
hutch: while most might come here "to work", all receive some
form of public benefits of some kind. In fact, offering them those
benefits is one of the key ways the Dems obtain votes. And, unless
you have some plan to get rid of the DemocraticParty, that's always
going to be an issue. In our universe at least, things are probably
differen in the libertarian alternative.
And, if Mike Laursen followed this issue as closely as I do he'd
realize that those "studies" have serious flaws, such as failing to
ask pointed questions as did the previously mentioned ZogbyPoll or
such as by being from hacks with a demonstrated
ProMassiveImmigration agenda.
More on that topic:
here
here
here
here
here
Learn something, it'll help you out.
|8.5.08 @ 10:37PM|#
I am an advocate of quota-free visas and do not want to be
lumped in with the open borders crowd.
I am an advocate of quota-free visas and I consider myself one of
the open borders crowd. I think an immigrant should be disallowed
entry only for a specific cause serving a compelling public
interest -- such as his being an enemy agent, a terrorist, a
serious felon, or a carrier of contagion.
Does moving the non-special-visa immigration stats from a rate of
99% rejection to a rate of 99% acceptance not qualify as open
borders? Is there some more open borders crowd out there that I am
unaware of?
GILMORE|8.5.08 @ 10:54PM|#
Orange Line Special | August 5, 2008, 8:50pm | #
hutch: while most might come here "to work", all receive some form
of public benefits of some kind.
"all", meaning everyone else in the country =
http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/cea_immigration_062007.html
Immigrants are a critical part of the U.S. workforce and contribute
to productivity growth and technological advancement. They make up
15% of all workers and even larger shares of certain occupations
such as construction, food services and health care. Approximately
40% of Ph.D. scientists working in the United States were born
abroad. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; American Community
Survey)
Many immigrants are entrepreneurs. The Kauffman Foundation's index
of entrepreneurial activity is nearly 40% higher for immigrants
than for natives. (Source: Kauffman Foundation)
Immigrants and their children assimilate into U.S. culture. For
example, although 72% of first-generation Latino immigrants use
Spanish as their predominant language, only 7% of the second
generation are Spanish-dominant. (Source: Pew Hispanic
Center/Kaiser Family Foundation)
Immigrants have lower crime rates than natives. Among men aged 18
to 40, immigrants are much less likely to be incarcerated than
natives. (Source: Butcher and Piehl)
Immigrants slightly improve the solvency of pay-as-you-go
entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The 2007
OASDI Trustees Report indicates that an additional 100,000 net
immigrants per year would increase the long-range actuarial balance
by about 0.07% of taxable payroll. (Source: Social Security
Administration)
The long-run impact of immigration on public budgets is likely to
be positive. Projections of future taxes and government spending
are subject to uncertainty, but a careful study published by the
National Research Council estimated that immigrants and their
descendants would contribute about $80,000 more in taxes (in 1996
dollars) than they would receive in public services. (Source: Smith
and Edmonston)
Mike Laursen|8.6.08 @ 11:57AM|#
And, if Mike Laursen followed this issue as closely as I do
he'd realize that those "studies" have serious flaws, such as
...
Only one of the five click 'n' learn links you listed in your
comment had any relevance to pointing out flaws in immigration
studies: one guy complaining that he felt immigrants should have
been asked whether they think they have to obey our laws.
Which is a loaded question. He's hoping they will answer, "Yes", to
which he can counter, "Then why did you sneak across the border
illegally?"
Orange Line Special|8.6.08 @ 1:20PM|#
The above links were about the wider issue of assim.
As for reports themselves, there's a discussion of one such report
here,
and a comment from me ("TLB") here:
lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2008/05/a-report-fear-a.html?cid=116670654#comments
And, it's pretty funny to see Bush admin prop. regurgitated here at
a libertarian site.
Except, of course, this isn't a real libertarian site and most of
the commenters here have absolutely no idea what they're talking
about.
It's a little difficult to try to inform the ignorant in this case
since I probably have several hundred entries about how bad Bush
is, so just doing a regular find through my archives would probably
be the best choice.
Sheesh.
Mike Laursen|8.6.08 @ 2:31PM|#
Well, you could have started by writing a succinct paragraph or
two here in the comments about your criticisms of immigration
studies. Instead, you link to rambling articles on your website and
expect we brain-challenged, pseudo-libertarian reason
commenters to pick out the signal, which may not even be there,
from the noise.
It's like you are (a) just trying to get people to go to your
website, and (b) trying to put up a smoke screen hiding your lack
of any cogent argument.
Mike Laursen|8.6.08 @ 2:36PM|#
As for reports themselves, there's a discussion of one such
report here...
That's it? I'll give you that Massey;s having an agenda raises a
yellow flag that his methods should be scrutinized carefully, but
it does not constitute a rebuttal of his findings. And "it only
reports on what supposedly happened in the past" is a stupid
argument -- what else can we study but what has happened in the
past?
GILMORE|8.6.08 @ 8:44PM|#
most of the commenters here have absolutely no idea what
they're talking about
Yes. And if that is in fact true, one can feel comfortable knowing
you are something far, far more pathetic and deranged, because of
the amount of time you spend desperately trying to get the
attention of people you're convinced are pseudo-libertarian
ignoramuses.
Why you arent perusing the REAL LIBERTARIAN halls of wisdom...
well, i guess you're having trouble finding it.... and you settled
with us
Can you even rebut a single point that the Council of Economic
Advisors published? C'mon! try! it will be fun to watch.
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