Tim No one is disputing that it is currently illegal for people born...
· Comment — Archer T. Ships replied to Tim Anderson's comment. · View on Facebook · Markdown source
Tim No one is disputing that it is currently illegal for people born outside the US to be in the US without government permission. This is a dispute over what policy libertarians _should_ advocate, given that our ideal policies aren't possible right now. Libertarians typically prefer to settle differences in preferences by deferring to property boundaries. So, in libertopia, the roads would be privately owned, and the road owner would decide the policies of the road. If road owner Hoppe hates Mexicans, and road owner Friedman likes Mexicans, Hoppe could ban Mexicans from his road, and Friedman could allow them to pass on his road. However, the roads are not privately owned, but owned by the government (who nominally acts for the benefit for all citizens). Since the roads aren't likely to be privatized any time soon, what is the "second best" policy libertarians should advocate? Hoppe advocates for a policy that denies legal driving privileges based on birthplace. He says this approximates the policy that most road owners in libertopia would prefer, and therefore is the best "second best" policy for libertarians. I'm arguing that's unlikely to be the policy of most road owners in libertopia, as most are likely to want to maximize their profits and therefore serve the greatest number of clients. So, in libertopia, road privileges are likely to be based on skills/competency, not birthplace. In addition, people might want illegal immigrants to leave, but they also want safe roads. For example, I want people to know how to drive safely and follow the rules of the road regardless of immigration status. If illegal immigrants are discouraged from going through the training and testing required to get a driver's license, then they will be less safe drivers. (I'm skeptical that licenses actually increase safe driving practices, but this is the nominal justification for driver's licenses.)