PAF
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by Jacob G. Hornberger
October 8, 2025
As I have emphasized for 35 years here at The Future of Freedom Foundation — and as I have again emphasized in my new book The Case for Open Borders: a Primer — there is one — and only one — solution to America’s decades-long, ongoing, never-ending, perpetual immigration crisis and the gigantic, ever-expanding immigration police state that enforces it. That solution is open borders — genuine open borders — that is, the same type of system we have here inside the United States with respect to state borders — in other words, the abolition of ICE, the Border Patrol, and all restrictions on the free movements of goods, services, and people across our international borders.
Yes, I fully realize that there are lots of Americans, including many libertarians, who continue to support America’s socialist system of immigration controls. They continue to hold out hope that someone, including Donald Trump, will finally — finally! — make this dysfunctional system work.
But it will never work because socialism is an inherently defective system. And make no mistake about it: As I detail in my new book, America’s immigration-control system is a socialist system, in that it is based on the core socialist principle of central planning. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out, socialist central planning produces “planned chaos.” What better term to describe the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border and, now, across the United States?
And let’s not forget the massive immigration police state that is required to enforce this socialist system: an enveloping militarized national police state, along with troops now occupying our cities; masked immigration officials in unmarked cars grabbing people off the streets and disappearing them; separating children from parents; violent raids on American businesses; bankrupting American farmers; criminalizing Americans who hire, transport, or care for illegal immigrants; warrantless searches of ranches and farms within 100 miles of the border; massive surveillance of the borderlands; domestic highway checkpoints; roving Border Patrol checkpoints; a Berlin Wall based on eminent domain stealing of people’s land; threats against foreign regimes; massive forced deportations; death; destruction of freedom of association and liberty of contract; attacks on habeas corpus, due process, and other civil liberties; and much more. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, that type of society cannot be considered a genuinely free society by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, it is the very hallmark of an oppressive, tyrannical society — the type of society that libertarians ardently oppose.
The beautiful thing about a system of open borders is that not only does it work, it is the only system that is consistent with the principles of free markets, economic liberty, religion, and morality. It is a system that brings life, vitality, energy, entrepreneurship, harmony, and higher standards of living to a nation.
I recently did a search for “The Case for Open Borders” on Amazon. Up popped six books, including my new book. I highly recommend reading all six of these books. I have no doubts that anyone, especially skeptical libertarians, who takes the time to read all six books will conclude that open borders is one of the principal measures that can lead America out of the statist morass into which our nation has been plunged and to the highest levels of freedom, peace, prosperity, and harmony in history.
Here are the six books, in my recommended order of reading:
www.fff.org
October 8, 2025
As I have emphasized for 35 years here at The Future of Freedom Foundation — and as I have again emphasized in my new book The Case for Open Borders: a Primer — there is one — and only one — solution to America’s decades-long, ongoing, never-ending, perpetual immigration crisis and the gigantic, ever-expanding immigration police state that enforces it. That solution is open borders — genuine open borders — that is, the same type of system we have here inside the United States with respect to state borders — in other words, the abolition of ICE, the Border Patrol, and all restrictions on the free movements of goods, services, and people across our international borders.
Yes, I fully realize that there are lots of Americans, including many libertarians, who continue to support America’s socialist system of immigration controls. They continue to hold out hope that someone, including Donald Trump, will finally — finally! — make this dysfunctional system work.
But it will never work because socialism is an inherently defective system. And make no mistake about it: As I detail in my new book, America’s immigration-control system is a socialist system, in that it is based on the core socialist principle of central planning. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out, socialist central planning produces “planned chaos.” What better term to describe the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border and, now, across the United States?
And let’s not forget the massive immigration police state that is required to enforce this socialist system: an enveloping militarized national police state, along with troops now occupying our cities; masked immigration officials in unmarked cars grabbing people off the streets and disappearing them; separating children from parents; violent raids on American businesses; bankrupting American farmers; criminalizing Americans who hire, transport, or care for illegal immigrants; warrantless searches of ranches and farms within 100 miles of the border; massive surveillance of the borderlands; domestic highway checkpoints; roving Border Patrol checkpoints; a Berlin Wall based on eminent domain stealing of people’s land; threats against foreign regimes; massive forced deportations; death; destruction of freedom of association and liberty of contract; attacks on habeas corpus, due process, and other civil liberties; and much more. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, that type of society cannot be considered a genuinely free society by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, it is the very hallmark of an oppressive, tyrannical society — the type of society that libertarians ardently oppose.
The beautiful thing about a system of open borders is that not only does it work, it is the only system that is consistent with the principles of free markets, economic liberty, religion, and morality. It is a system that brings life, vitality, energy, entrepreneurship, harmony, and higher standards of living to a nation.
I recently did a search for “The Case for Open Borders” on Amazon. Up popped six books, including my new book. I highly recommend reading all six of these books. I have no doubts that anyone, especially skeptical libertarians, who takes the time to read all six books will conclude that open borders is one of the principal measures that can lead America out of the statist morass into which our nation has been plunged and to the highest levels of freedom, peace, prosperity, and harmony in history.
Here are the six books, in my recommended order of reading:
- The Case for Open Borders: a Primer by Jacob Hornberger. My new book serves as a short, easy-to-read introduction to the concept of open borders.
- The Case for Free Trade and Open Immigration, edited by Richard Ebeling and Jacob Hornberger. FFF published this book in 1995, five years after FFF’s founding. Its essays are timeless and apply just as well today as they did 30 years ago.
- Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration by Bryan Caplan. This is a fantastic graphic nonfiction work by a brilliant libertarian scholar.
- The Case for Open Borders by John Washington. This book, written by a liberal (i.e., progressive) makes a fantastic case for open borders.
- Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders by Jason Riley. This book, written by a conservative member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, also makes an excellent case for open borders.
- Freedom: The Case for Open Borders by Joss Sheldon. This fascinating book combines historical, economic, cultural, political, and philosophical arguments to make the case for open borders.
Open Borders: The Only Pro-Freedom Solution to America’s Immigration Morass – The Future of Freedom Foundation
As I have emphasized for 35 years here at The Future of Freedom Foundation — and as I have again emphasized in my new book The Case for Open Borders: a Primer — there is one — and only one — solution to America’s decades-long, ongoing, never-ending, perpetual immigration crisis and the gigantic...
www.fff.org
