Thinking Clearly About Immigration
by Timothy Hsiao, Public Discourse:
All human beings share certain universal human rights. But I am not just a human. I am also an American, a Kansan, a university instructor, and a member of a church body. Each one of these relationships generates specific goods, rights, and responsibilities that are unique to me. The same is true for nation-states, each of which have a distinct culture and unique responsibilities to its own citizens.
The debate over immigration is typically cast in economic terms. Arguments for and against certain policies usually make reference to the costs and benefits of immigration, legal or illegal. But while economic considerations are certainly important relevant to any sound immigration policy, they should not be what primarily guides our thinking on immigration.
This is because immigration policy raises a number of foundational questions about the nature of the state, its justification, and the scope of its claim to sovereignty. What is the state? How is it justified? And how much authority does it possess? Our view of immigration policy depends crucially on our answers to these questions. We cannot debate the merits of immigration restrictions without first disentangling these issues.
This essay offers a brief overview and defense of immigration restrictions according to the classical conception of the state. The view I outline may be characterized as a kind of natural law nationalism.
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