Posted by Ilya Somin:
Ronald Reagan on Immigration:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_05_20-2007_05_26.shtml#1180077450
Conservative Republican have been [1]outdoing each other in claiming
the mantle of Ronald Reagan. Ironically, however, many conservatives
are simultaneously outdoing each other in advocating immigration
restriction - a stance Reagan would probably have abhorred.
As Reagan biographer Lou Cannon points out [2]in this book (pg. 119),
Reagan proposed a treaty allowing for full freedom of movement for all
workers throughout North America in his November 1979 speech
announcing his candidacy for the presidency. As early as 1952 - at a
time when US immigration policy was still governed by the highly
restrictive legislation passed in the 1920s - Reagan gave a speech
embracing nearly unlimited immigration:
I
. . . have thought of America as a place in the divine scheme of
things that was set aside as a promised land . . . [A]nd the price
of admission was very simple . . . Any place in the world and any
person from these places; any person with the courage, with the
desire to tear up their roots, to strive for freedom, to attempt
and dare to live in a strange and foreign place, to travel halfway
across the world was welcome here . . . I believe that God in
shedding his grace on this country has always in this divine scheme
of things kept an eye on our land and guided it as a promised land
for these people. (emphasis added).
Cannon, pg. 119.
Almost forty years later, in his [3]January 1989 farewell message to
the nation, Reagan struck a similar theme:
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't
know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in
my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than
oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all
kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that
hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city
walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with
the will and the heart to get here. (emphasis added)
In between, Reagan [4]pushed for his 1979 North American accord
proposal (which eventually became the NAFTA treaty), and signed the
1986 immigration reform law that amnestied almost 3 million illegal
immigrants in exchange for relatively weak enforcement measures.
As his 1979 proposal and his support for the 1986 amnesty suggest,
Reagan did demonize illegal immigrants as some conservatives do today.
He sought to enable them to legalize their status, and set many on the
road to citizenship. While Reagan's rhetorical embrace of "anyone" who
wants to come the US probably should be taken literally, it certainly
indicates a generally positive attitude towards large-scale
immigration from all parts of the world.
The fact that Reagan supported something does not by itself prove that
it is right, or even that it is the right position for conservatives.
Reagan certainly made his share of mistakes, such as the extremely
grave error of trading arms for hostages with Iran. But as Cannon
notes, Reagan's positive attitude towards immigration was not just an
isolated issue position, but was integrally linked to his generally
optimistic and open vision of America. I would add that it also drew
on his understanding that America is not a zero-sum game between
immigrants and natives - just as he also recognized that it is not a
zero-sum game between the rich and the poor. Immigration could promote
prosperity and advancement for both groups in much the same way that
free trade benefits both Americans and foreigners. Reagan probably did
not have a detailed understanding of [5]the economics of comparative
advantage which underpins this conclusion. But he surely understood it
intuitively. Those who reject Reagan's position on immigration must,
if they are to be consistent, also reject much of the rest of his
approach to economic and social policy. Today's conservatives can
argue for immigration restrictions if they so choose. But they should
not claim the mantle of Reagan in doing so.
References
1. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2986193&page=1
2. http://www.amazon.com/Governor-Reagan-His-Rise-Power/dp/1586480308
3. http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1989/011189i.htm
4. http://www.cato.org/dailys/06-24-04.html
5. http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2006/01/where_eugenics.html
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