Let Them In - The Case for Open Borders

Jason Riley 2008

book notes

Nativism for centuries
- Ben Franklin feared Germans
- Lou Dobbs, Don Goldwater, Pat Buchanan, Nicholas Kristof, Robert Rector
- Ambrose Bierce, Henry George, Samuel Morse
- Gingrich, Tancredo, O'Reilly, Beck,
Reagan was pro-immigration
- November 1989 called for free labor flows
Bush did not want to lose Hispanic vote
- 8% of the electorate, half of that foreign born
Anti-imm Republicans lose elections
- Hayworth, Graf, Hostettler, Beauprez, Kean, McGavick, Santorum
Sierra Club neutral
- nativists seceeded
  - John Tanton, Richard Lamm, David Pimentel, Frank Morris
Eugenicists
- Galton, Russell, Wells, Shaw, Holmes, Sanger
Lomborg: Population growth peaked in 1964 at 2.17%
- 1.26% 2000
- 1% 2016 (est)

Median Age	1950	2000	2050
US	30	35	40
Europe	29		48
Japan	22		53

US - half of pop growth immigration
environment improving, technology the cause
- 1976-2001 60% less toxic chemicals
- "" 97% less lead air pollution
- "" 67% less SO2 air pollution
- "" 72% less CO air pollution
- forested land increasing
- 43% less soil erosion
immigrants improve labor flexibility, improve economy, create other jobs
- Giovanni Peri at UC Davis: 1990-2004, immigration induced 4% native wave increase
- 2003 30% of PhD foreign born
- 37% Cypress Semi engineers foreign born, create 5 jobs each
Immigrants very low and very high skilled
- complimentary to american mid-skilled
If they can't work farm jobs, the farms move south
Milton Friedman: minimum wage anti-black
Legal immigrants far more likely to go on welfare than illegals
- illegals: mostly pay SS and taxes
  - young and here for the work
  - if they use services, they get caught
- 1995 legals 12% of SSI. TANF
- 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
  - 5 year bar following entry
  - program use halved
60% natives collect more in government services than they pay in taxes
Urban Institute: illegals 1% welfare, native 5%
Illegal alien education "cost" is for children who are actually 67% citizens
Illegal labor force participation rate 94%
- the longer they are here, the less they are unemployed
2005 census: < 10y 1/3 speak english well, > 30y 3/4 speak english well
- 91% children 97% grandchildren speak english well
- 89% of latinos believe immigrants need to speak English to succeed
Joel Perlmann Italians Then, Mexicans Now
80% of MexAm children in raised two-parent families
no Islam terrorists from Mexico
- most legal
- Illegals come through Canada
- Michael Chertoff, DHS sec (also Tom Ridge, previous DHS):
  - "economic migrants are not a threat to national security"
  - "tall grass, a distraction"