Adam Gurri says that America’s heterogeneity is the key to our success. Accordingly, he calls for increased immigration. I’ve long felt that immigration is the low hanging fruit that America refuses to pick. It has such a tremendous upside, and almost no downside.
The primary reason most Americans would say they oppose immigration is that “They will take our jobs”. That is an attitude that is firmly rooted in xenophobia and ignorance. Xenophobia provides the distinction between “us” and “them”, and ignorance allows us to recognize that immigrants work and get paid, but not that they also spend money and provide economic value.
For those who say that two much immigration would endanger our national identity, I would point our that America is a nation of immigrants. Our diversity is an important part of our national character. Increased immigration can only make America more American, not less.
Dylan Matthews points out that while open borders would be good for us, they would be awesome for the developing world. My preferred policy is a variation of this one.
