Paul Krugman used to say that the Democrats were ambivalent about immigration, but the Republicans are schizophrenic. What he meant by that is that Democrats had some difficulty balancing their normal compassion for the needy with their desire to protect the wages of workers; on the other hand, immigration is a major football within the GOP between PBPs (who want the workers) and Reactionaries (who hate foreigners).
For what it’s worth, here’s my two cents on the matter:
- We have a right as a nation to protect our borders. That’s a matter of common sense and sovereignty, not racism.
- There is no current problem with the levels of illegal immigration. There haven’t been any hordes at our borders for years.
- Refugees and economic immigrants represent separate problems.
- We have a history of welcoming refugees. It is part of our national DNA that should be respected and maintained. Refugees do not disproportionately commit violent crimes, regardless of what Trump tries to argue.
- Economic immigrants should be admitted on the basis of cold-eyed policy. The factors that go into this include: (a) impacts to wage levels for the low-skilled; (b) relations with our neighbors; (c) impacts to public services; (d) the likelihood that the immigrants will create economic benefits; and (e) demographic concerns.
- There is little evidence that immigrants depress wages. Immigration is really just a conspicuous form of globalization. Offshoring and technological changes have a far greater impact. Even countries with minimal immigration have experienced problems with stagnant wages for the low-skilled. Depriving our farmers of a needed labor source just makes everyone poorer.
- Pissing off Mexico is not really a good way to conduct foreign policy.
- Immigrants typically create more benefits than they consume.
- Immigrants can help us pay for the welfare state.
- And so, I would argue for a liberal position on legal immigration. As to the illegals who are already here, most of whom are otherwise law-abiding, I don’t see any public benefit to making their lives more miserable than they already are.