The case for immigration | Alex Nowrasteh and Bryan Caplan | The Reason Interview

Immigration experts Alex Nowrasteh and Bryan Caplan make the case for significantly more and easier immigration to the U.S.

https://reason.com/podcast/2025/01/29/alex-nowrasteh-and-bryan-caplan-the-case-for-more-immigration/

0:00- Introduction
1:55- Trump's "Day 1" promises and actions
6:13- Was there a migrant "invasion"?
7:35- What does "open borders" mean?
11:03- What's the real story of chaos on the border?
22:06- The case for more immigration
24:30- Immigrant welfare use
31:11- H-1B visa debate
38:11- The Laken Riley Act and immigrant crime
42:00- Cultural arguments for more immigration
45:47- Assimilation in America
52:29- How many immigrants could the U.S. take in?
53:53- The most worrisome anti-immigration policies proposed

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One of the very first things that Donald Trump did after being sworn in as president was to make good on promises to reduce both legal and illegal immigration. He even issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the Constitution's 14th Amendment. That order has already been blocked by a federal judge, and its fate may well end up being decided by the Supreme Court. But calls for less immigration are super popular, with 55 percent of Americans saying current levels should be decreased, the highest since 2001. Reason's Nick Gillespie disagrees with that—he believes that immigration is a good thing and that we should have more of it, done in an orderly, peaceful, efficient fashion.

So on January 21, the day after Trump's inauguration, Gillespie asked George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan and Cato Institute analyst Alex Nowrasteh to make the libertarian case for more immigration at a live event in New York City. They've written extensively on the topic and answer every question and concern you might have about immigration. The goal here is to steel-man critics of immigration and explain why more newcomers are good for our culture, economy, and country.

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