New York City Libertarians: Watch Ben Powell Debate Mark Krikorian on Open Borders at Next Week's Soho Forum
Should the U.S. issue visas to (basically) anybody who wants one?
What kind of restrictions should there be on U.S. immigration? On Monday, Ben Powell, head of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University, will debate open borders with Mark Krikorian, who runs the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
The event will be held at the Soho Forum, which is a monthly Oxford-style debate series in Manhattan that "features topics of special interest to libertarians" and "aims to enhance social and professional ties within the New York City libertarian community." The moderator is Barron's Economics Editor Gene Epstein (who also happens to be my father).
At the beginning of each event, attendees get to vote on a resolution. After the debaters have had their say, the audience votes again, and the side that's gained the most ground wins the contest. Monday's resolution is on open borders with a few carve-outs:
U.S. immigration policy should be to issue migration visas, without any numerical limitations, to all applicants who are not on a terrorist watch list, and who do not otherwise have criminal records or contagious diseases.
Powell will take the affirmative vs. Krikorian for the negative. Get your tickets here.
You'll also be able to listen to the debate (probably next week) on Reason's podcast (subscribe at iTunes).
At November's Soho Forum, Nick Gillespie debated Walter Block on whether libertarians should vote for Trump. Listen here.
Last month, it was Matt Welch vs. Jonathan Chait on whether Obama was a "great president." Listen to that one below: