Every year, millions of people seek to immigrate to the United States, and with good reason: Opportunities to improve their lives abound here. Immigrants and would-be immigrants want to pursue the American dream. Whether or not they would put it in these terms, they want to be free to think and act on their best judgment; they want to produce wealth and keep and use it as they see fit; they want to make better lives for themselves and their families. In other words, foreigners want to come to America for the same reason the Founding Fathers established this republic: They want lives of liberty and happiness.

Immigration is the act of moving to a country with the intention of remaining there. Morally speaking, if a person rationally judges that immigrating to America would be good for his life, he should immigrate; a rational morality holds that one should always act on one’s best judgment. But does a foreigner have a right to move to America? And should America welcome him? Yes, he does—and yes, she should. Recognition of these facts was part and parcel of this country’s founding . . .

By  Burgess Laughlin, on March 12, 2008 1:59 PM  

What a pleasure it is to read an argument for a position that is written in a clear, straight-forward, coherent manner, with all the pieces present and tied together!

Craig Biddle is an excellent writer. He does not sacrifice clarity for pretense of elegance of style.

I wish that every writer, on either side of an issue, would write such essays.

I highly recommend Biddle's essay, not only because I agree with his conclusions, but because it is a model for debate.

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