A Christian Science Monitor interview of John Washington, author of the book, The Case for Open Borders.
What made you want to write this book?
Washington: “It was a dawning realization after covering border immigration politics for quite a while. I kept on seeing failure after failure. When you try to set up borders, especially in our contemporary world that is beset by climate catastrophe and ongoing upheaval, people are going to run into those borders, and if we don’t let them in, some are going to die. . . .
Where do you normally begin when talking about open borders?
Washington: “The argument that I like to go to is the human argument. We have different laws for different people. Some people are allowed to go pretty much wherever they want because they have a certain passport. That’s not anything they did or earned. Other people are stuck in places with extreme precarity, hunger, and persecution. They can’t move, just because of where they were born. . . .And I think that is fundamentally unfair. If someone’s really concerned about the economics of it, or they’re far from the border, perhaps you can talk about, actually, [immigrants] don’t steal your jobs. They don’t undercut wages. They’re not a threat to your culture. . . .
What’s the difference between ‘open borders’ and ‘no borders’?
Washington: “I think no borders implies the absolute abolition of the nation-state or of a country itself. I don’t advocate for no borders. I don’t think it’s feasible. With open borders, however, the United States could remain the United States, and yet people could come here and become citizens through a registry. That’s similar to what happens when you cross from state to state here already. . . .”– Walls Haven’t Stopped Immigration. Is Society Ready to Explore Open Borders?, Erika Page The Christian Science Monitor, 5/30/24. [Linkl]
Fact Check of Above Quote: John Washington, claims that it is only human for people to want to move to other countries. Would he deny that it is also “only human” for people to want to preserve their countries and cultures?
According to an international Gallup Poll, about 150 million foreigners would like to move to the U.S. But if we declared open borders and invited them to come, they wouldn’t be the only ones. Along with them could come spouses and children. At bare minimum the total would exceed 300 million people—close to the total population of the U.S. Does Washington really believe that such an influx would not threaten our unity, our culture, and our economy?
If he holds that view he is delusional. Sadly, many mass immigration advocates have no problems with embracing delusions. Indeed, they don’t regard them as delusions, but as enlightened thinking. As they signal their supposed virtue to others, they care nothing about the practical consequences of their beliefs. This gross irresponsibility is a vice, not a virtue.
Truly it is a delusion that America has the obligation, let along the ability, to provide perfect justice and equal opportunity for every human being on planet earth. If we don’t restrict immigration we will be overwhelmed by the world and its problems. Then we won’t be able to help anyone.
Washington maintains there’s a difference between open borders and no borders, the latter essentially meaning no countries. But in truth they would be pretty much the same in practice. Washington claims that open borders would resemble the situation we have with our states, which remain distinct political entities even as they allow free movement of U.S. citizens. This is a false analogy. When citizens cross state lines, the states remain American in basic identity, culture, and politics. The Unrestricted movement of foreigners, as it overwhelms our powers of assimilation, makes us less American and less of a coherent country.
An open border also subverts free and representative government because it denies citizens any real say-so over what their country is and what it will become. With an open border that decision making largely passes to the foreigners who choose to arrive.
Borders are necessary for countries to exist. Opening them is the same as erasing them. It’s a delusion to claim otherwise.