Dave Smith vs. Chris Freiman | What's the ideal immigration policy? | Just Asking Questions, Ep. 16
Channel: ReasonTV
Date: 2024-03-28

Podcaster Dave Smith and philosopher Chris Freiman debate open borders on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions.

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Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/03/27/dave-smith-vs-chris-freiman-whats-the-ideal-immigration-policy

0:00- Intro: Why is immigration a big concern for voters?
3:13- Why Dave Smith opposes open borders
8:00- Why Chris Freiman supports open borders
13:49- Dave’s rebuttal: “Uninvited” immigration isn’t libertarian
19:04- Chris’s rebuttal: Liberty trumps popular opinion
22:49- How would Dave’s “invitation” system work? 
32:20- What would Chris change short of opening the borders?
41:53- Is too much immigration a security risk?
51:48- Do more immigrants lead to bigger government?
1:04:00- Libertarians and “public spaces”
1:07:50 - Is “open borders” a bad term?
1:15:10 - Why does Dave want to put the troops on the border?
1:19:10- “Keyhole solutions” to immigration
1:22:04- Are immigrants more likely to be on welfare?
1:30:00- Are immigrants different today than they were in the 1980s?
1:36:06- New York City didn’t know how to handle an influx of migrants
1:41:58- Could the U.S. absorb millions of immigrants if we had open borders?
1:46:35- What would happen if we had open borders tomorrow?
1:52:30- Dave’s question for Chris: Is immigration a “natural right”?
1:53:35 - Chris’s question for Dave: Am I as bad as a communist?
1:55:00 - Dave’s closing statements
1:59:30 - Chris’s closing statements


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What's the ideal immigration policy?

Immigration ranks as the second-most important issue among registered US voters and the top issue for Republican voters, according to a Marist/PBS NewsHour/NPR poll released last month. Perhaps that's because of the 3.2 million border encounters documented by Border Control in 2023—a new record high that's so far being outpaced this year. Crossings have increased throughout the Biden years.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who continues to erect razor wire fencing at the border despite a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting Texas from stopping federal agents from cutting through the barriers, has likely also heightened the salience of the issue for Republican voters. Even politicians in blue cities like New York are calling the influx a problem, with Mayor Eric Adams saying that the arrival of 110,000 asylum seekers over a year and half would "destroy New York City" as shelters become overwhelmed. 

What do libertarians, traditionally in favor of permissive immigration laws, have to say about this? The truth is, there's a divide. Today's episode of Just Asking Questions features two thinkers on either side of that divide laying out what they each believe is the ideal immigration policy.

Popular libertarian podcaster and comedian Dave Smith said on the Liberty Lockdown show last month that "all of our troops should come home and be stationed around our borders." He continued that, "if you believe in open borders right now, under current circumstances, you're an insane person, and you're as bad as a communist."

That sparked a social media firestorm, which included exchanges between Smith and today's other guest, Chris Freiman, a professor in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University and author of several notable papers about the ethics of immigration. 

Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or on the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.