A Surprisingly Simple Solution to the Chaos at the Border

Alex Nowrasteh is laying out pragmatic solutions for alleviating our immigration problems

Feb 10, 2023

“The basic presumption of the legal immigration system is that no one may immigrate legally unless they fall into very narrow exceptions.”

–2022 CATO HANDBOOK FOR POLICYMAKERS, Immigration, By David J. Bier and Alex Nowrasteh

Images of illegal crossings are disturbingly chaotic and make it clear that there is indeed an immigration crisis. People perceive that chaos means we need government to exercise even more control, even when government is to blame for the chaos (as in the case of immigration). And so we get the vicious cycle that ends with our broken immigration system.

Alex Nowrasteh, the director of economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, returns to the show Sunday to lay out pragmatic solutions for alleviating the chaos at the border.

It starts with simplifying the system, and allowing more opportunities for immigrants to live and work here legally.

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Alex is the director of economic and social policy studies. His popular publications have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, and most other major publications in the United States.

He is the coauthor (with Benjamin Powell) of the book Wretched Refuse? The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which is the first book on how economic institutions in receiving countries adjust to immigration. He is also the coauthor (with Mark S. Krikorian) of the booklet Open Immigration: Yea and Nay (Encounter Broadsides, 2014) and has contributed numerous book chapters about immigration to various edited volumes.

Our own immigration series “Let Them All In” has answered 5 of the main populist objections to open immigration. The series will conclude with an essay on policy solutions - the topic for our show this Sunday.

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ICYMI – Free to Build

Bob Zadek @rzadek

At the end of the day, federalism - i.e., state experiments, in response to the general will - still wins. Yet Federal & Local tyranny squeeze out common sense. Christian's latest for @reason covers the new federal rent control idea: reason.com/2023/01/27/the…

Bob Zadek @rzadek

It's not a question of whether or not we have zoning, but WHO DECIDES the rules about new housing and developments. Normally I favor local control, but this issue may be an exception for reasons that @christianbrits explains: https://t.co/53ert0IVnP