by John Isbister

About the author: John Isbister is an economics professor and provost at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Americans typically express their opinions about immigration with certainty and moral outrage. I would like to argue, however, that most Americans are in an ethically fraught position with respect to immigration. We have deeply held convictions about the equality of all people. At the same time, though, we use immigration policy to perpetuate a privileged lifestyle at the expense of foreigners. We are not prepared to abandon either this use of immigration policy or the ideology of equality. At the very least, therefore, our moral stance should be one of humility, not outrage. . . .

The moral validity of border controls is drawn into question if we believe in the moral equality of all human beings...