Why the left should argue for more immigration – but not open borders | Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti

The US needs more immigrants to maintain current levels of economic growth and welfare provision - but that doesn't mean unlimited migration

The idea of open borders underpins many of the American left's current stances on immigration. Although this isn't always stated explicitly, it explains both the vehement opposition to Trump's proposed wall on the border with Mexico (whose construction actually began under Bill Clinton) and the insistence on rolling back regulation on immigration flows.

Yet this is a weak position, for at least two reasons. First, states presuppose borders. Failing to control borders is not an immigration policy, but the lack of one. It's also a position likely to reinforce the already widespread perception that immigration flows are "out of control".

Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti is Associate Professor of political science at the City University of New York - City College