From the WSJ Opinion Archives
THE WESTERN FRONT
Let Their People Come
The Founders understood the importance of free immigration.
[King George III] has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
--Declaration of Independence
Tomorrow we celebrate the 227th anniversary of a document that founded our nation by defining what it stands for: the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But how many of us remember that among the colonists' grievances was the king's hindrance of immigration?
This is more than an interesting historical footnote. Every military conflict and economic downturn seems to give renewed strength to arguments against immigration: New arrivals take jobs from citizens, put an added strain on social services and threaten the culture. And, as Sept. 11 made clear, some of the people want in so they can do harm to America. So we have Michelle Malkin's book "Invasion Nation: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores."
Of course, these arguments have some merit; America needs to be vigilant about keeping terrorists out. But there's a fundamental right that when honored helps build peaceful and prosperous societies and when denied leads to authoritarian, tyrannical regimes. That is the right of free people to live where they wish.
Liberty depends on a society that allows people the freedom to migrate and live where they can best build a life for themselves. A society that has to compete to attract new and productive citizens will be compelled by necessity to fight for the freedom of its members--even for those who were afforded fewer legal rights because of the circumstances of their birth. A society cut off from such migrations loses the vitality new people bring to the culture as well as the prosperity they create through their industry and eventually turns inward and tyrannical.
Clearly, the society the Founders passed onto succeeding generations didn't always live up to their ideals. It wasn't until the 1860s, with the Civil War and the end of slavery, that the nation extended the promise of free movement to all Americans. Much of that promise wasn't realized for another century. Yet these efforts were not refutation of the Founders but a continuation of the work they left unfinished.
America has just waged two wars to rid the world of insular, tyrannical regimes so that free people may live in peace. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, liberation has sparked a new wave of immigration--mostly expats returning home. The right and the necessity to allow people to live and move freely is self-evident indeed.
Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays.
