“Economic refugees” are not necessarily bad if they’re the productive, self-supporting type.
But when we have a welfare state, that’s not the type we get.
I often get into disputes w/ other Libertarians who can’t seem to comprehend that open borders shouldn’t coincide with open welfarism.
I’d actually be fine with the former were it not for the coexistence of the latter. Skilled migrants with the means for self-sufficiency would always be welcome. But instead we largely import and subsidize the mediocre and worse to come here.
Tell that to the millions of framers, roofers, and general laborers in the construction industry. And that’s just for starters. It’s not a question of how productive or self supporting an “economic refugee” may be. The fact is they will be willing to work for much less, and as good little Libertarians we can’t fault the employer, or the “migrant” as they contribute to dragging the country to the same status the “economic refugees” escaped.