Joseph Knight

My position on 'illegal' immigration ­ the libertarian position ­ is based on the following principles, observations, and opinions:

1. When government dictates to employers who they may or may not hire, government is initiating force ­ committing aggression.

2. To make a crime of giving water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, shelter to the weary, or a ride to a traveler is not only an initiation of force (aggression) but an abomination to any civil society.

3. So long as there are 'public' thoroughfares, all travelers have, or should have, a common-law right of egress on them.

4. People should be judged as individuals and their rights should not depend on which artificial categories they are placed in ­ such as 'citizen,' 'legal migrant' or 'illegal migrant.' Categorizing people to determine their rights is the moral equivalent of racism. The very term 'illegal immigrant' is as morally repugnant as the term 'illegitimate baby.' Another term for either is 'human being.'

5. The only difference between an illegal immigrant and a legal immigrant is that the latter is 'politician approved.' We are a 'nation of law' but the law is not sacred, not an end unto itself to never be questioned or challenged, and separate from justice. Without justice, 'the law' is just words on paper. After all, 'the law' required people to return runaway slaves to their owners. Don't fire up that joint until it's legal. Be sure your sons get registered for the draft so we can send them off to die in Iran or Syria ­ it's the law. And let's all get those un-approved firearms turned in ­ it's the law. How can the individual be expected to respect the law when the law doesn't respect the individual'

6. From a practical point of view, we have a welfare problem, a crime problem, and a terrorism problem ­ not an immigration problem.

7. Not only are many of the black-market jobs that 'illegal' immigrants take often shunned by American citizens, such as agricultural labor, many of the jobs are domestic and would simply disappear if subjected to minimum wage and other legal requirements.

8. There are always unintended and undesirable consequences when government uses force to achieve political or economic ends. Militarization of the border and cracking down on human migration will be no exception.

9. As a matter of sovereignty, you either believe that the individual is sovereign or that the nation-state is sovereign. If you believe that the individual is sovereign, you are a libertarian. You have a problem with any government that doesn't recognize individual sovereignty and you see borders for what they are ­ imaginary lines created by politicians to determine which group of thugs has jurisdiction over your life and property. If you believe that the nation state is sovereign, you are a statist. You have accepted in principle the 'divine right of kings' to rule, borders are important to you, and any subsequent discussion of the form of government is reduced to mere mechanics. Michael Tanner, of the CATO Institute says that 'America has always been a nation of immigrants. Thomas Jefferson emphasized this basic part of the American heritage, taking note of 'the natural right which all men have of relinquishing the country in which birth or other accident may have thrown them, and seeking subsistence and happiness wheresoever they may be able, and hope to find them.' The Libertarian Party has long recognized the importance of allowing free and open immigration, understanding that this leads to a growing and more prosperous America. We condemn the xenophobic immigrant bashing that would build a wall around the United States. At the same time, we recognize that the right to enter the United States does not include the right to economic entitlements such as welfare. The freedom to immigrate is a freedom of opportunity, not a guarantee of a handout.'

Accordingly, my libertarian position on immigration is:

1. Solve the real problems: stop welfare to non-citizens as a transitional step to ending the welfare state; put real criminals in jail; and fight terrorism by infiltrating terrorist organizations and ending the interference with other peoples' business around the world.

2. Create a true free market in labor by repelling ALL laws, ordinances, and regulations that interfere with voluntary contractual relationships ­ except those against force or fraud.

3. Recognize that human rights ­ including a free market in human migration ­ are universal. Abolish the Border Patrol and turn each Point-of-Entry over to the closest Chamber of Commerce.