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I have been a libertarian for as long as I can remember, probably as far back as my late teens or early twenties.  As a libertarian and a staunch believer in personal freedom, I should be for open borders, but I am not. Why? My answer comprises different perspectives, which I will highlight here.

First, if this were the 17th Century or 18th Century or even the 19th Century again, I would be for open borders. America was a new country then and a land of opportunity for people from around the world, who sought a new life.  It was a new world to be explored, settled, and developed.

Second, today’s America is a country of 320 million people, based on the last census, and certainly more at this writing.  Our country is an amalgamation of 50 sovereign states, over 20 ethnic groups, and more than 500 spoken languages.

America is a complex blend of a welfare state, capitalism and crony capitalism, and representative government.  Perhaps no other country of comparable size could withstand the pressures that these different economic, societal, and political frameworks demand from its leaders and citizens.  From my perspective, this complexity requires structure and control for national defense and security of our country.  Ergo, we need a rational system and rational policies to handle legal immigration, which exceeds one million immigrants annually, mostly from Asia and Latin America.  No one knows the extent of illegal immigration.

In my opinion, open borders would overwhelm our country and its systems.  We see some of this already at the southern border with Mexico.

Third, America was a real melting pot in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, because the immigrants who arrived then wanted a new life, and they wanted to become Americans.  They bought into the idea of America and the American Dream.  They retained their old-world traditions and heritage, but they were Americans first and, in the case of my family, Italians second.  I do not think America is a real melting pot today because we are not encouraging the immigrants who came to America after 1965 to assimilate.  Without assimilation, America will become a country that is merely multicultural in profile, without the unifying force of being American. 

Fourth, the world is no longer a reasonably safe place, as it was in our earlier history.  We had wars in the 19th and 20th Centuries, and we had state enemies, but we did not have militant terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS.  Without closed borders and strict controls, the safety and security of America and its citizens are put at risk by these groups.  And even with closed borders, safety and security are not assured. 

Fifth, America was founded on ideas such as self-reliance, personal freedom, and individualism.  These ideas and other first principles are unique to America and are still part of the core beliefs of most Americans.  I do not think recent immigrants align themselves with these ideas, and probably the illegal immigrants who reside in this country even less so.  Our culture and our values should be American, our citizens multinational, but not multicultural.  

Finally, America is still a sovereign nation.  Sovereign nations are defined by borders.  No so-called “New World Order” will ever override the concept of sovereignty, unless it is by force or coercion.  The European Union was a shot across the bow of sovereign nations in Europe. The EU is unraveling because no political movement or structure can eradicate blood, culture, and national identity. BREXIT is only one indicator for this great unraveling.