Open Borders - For Prosperity and for the Future of America

On Thursday, President Obama revealed a comprehensive executive order on immigration policy, "offering temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, along with an indefinite reprieve from deportation."  Currently, there are 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States and both political parties agree that the immigration system is broken and needs major overhaul. 

However, conservatives have castigated President Obama's plan, affirming that he does not have the power to delay deportation without legislation. President Obama has countered that he has a "limited power to act" that relies on the principle that law enforcement can choose where to focus their efforts. 

Nevertheless, it seems that the executive order will not be the last word on immigration reform. Ultimately, a radical reformation of the immigration system is required; an open borders policy that affirms the overwhelming benefits of immigration - legal and illegal. 

Firstly, immigration poses little risk to immigrant receiving countries including the US. In fact, in 2007, the Congressional Budget Office in 2007 responded to this misconception...“Over the past two decades, most efforts to estimate the fiscal impact of immigration in the United States have concluded that…tax revenues of all types generated by immigrants—both legal and unauthorized—exceed the cost of the services they use." That means that immigrants beneficially work in jobs in a variety of sectors and contribute tax revenue through either income taxes, sales taxes, and/or other direct taxes.

Under open borders, labor can migrate to places where it can be most productively employed. That results in greater innovation because people can move to places where their skills and talents can be put to efficient uses. Greater high-tech innovation would happen if more high-skilled immigrants were able to move to the US, resulting in the creation of more Googles (Google was co-founded by a Russian, Sergey Brin). Many immigrants create their own businesses which heavily expand work opportunities for local communities and facilitate the movement of innovations to the market. All of these immigrants will allow an open border policy to lessen tensions and create peace between countries  as countries recognize that hostilities will negate the trade and economic benefits both countries receive from immigration. At last, open borders would boost world GDP by 50-150%.

Thus, I urge Congress and President Obama to establish open borders and realize that the undeniable benefits of immigration outweigh any harmful effects of illegal and legal immigration.