Progressive Arguments Against Open Borders

Open borders is a concept that not only refers to physical borders but also political borders that restrict the free movement of humanity. While unfettered immigration would seem like a liberal progressive's dream, some progressives have made more than a few arguments against open borders.

According to OpenBorders: The Case, a consortium of bloggers focused on exploring this specific policy issue, said progressives who oppose open borders, "tend to be influenced by a mix of "territorialism" and local "inequality aversion."

"Their sphere of moral concern includes everybody who is within the geographical territory of their country, including citizens and non-citizens, and including both legal and illegal immigrants. And, in addition to being concerned about the absolute status of these people, progressive opponents of immigration are also concerned about inequality within the territory," said Vipul Naik, Open Borders: The Case founder and blogger

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To some, the key issues on open borders involve fair labor and environmentalism.

Paul Cafaro, a self-described progressive, wrote an op-ed for Thought Catalog that argued that border policy isn't about race, even as liberal opponents of open borders fear opposing it publicly because doing so might earn them the "racist" label.

"It is important that we keep our compassion, that we do what we can to make the world a better place. But high levels of immigration make America a worse place — not because of anything to do with race, creed, color, or religion, but because of these uncomfortable facts about labor and the environment, issues my liberal friends used to care about before they started dedicating all their time to proving they aren’t racist," Cafaro said.

Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate who captured the hearts and minds of many on the American left, shocked many when he argued strongly against open borders, but not why you'd expect.

In an interview with Vox, Sanders said the concept of open borders was a scheme cooked up by the 1 percent to import cheap labor and argued that "no country in the world believes in it."



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