Freedom of immigration

Many people on the right as well as on the left of the political spectrum oppose free immigration. Foreigners – defined as people from less fortunate countries of course, not rich Americans and Saudis – are not allowed to stay if they don't have the proper papers. They are hunted by the police, locked up in closed centers akin to jails and sometimes forcefully expelled to their countries of origin. The right says they are a danger to “our values”, which of course are defined as being of higher quality than theirs. On the left, immigrants are feared because they supposedly drag down wage levels.

But Nick Clegg has an interesting observation to make. (The Guardian: “Ignoring immigration issue is not an option”) “Millions of Britons take up the freedom to live and work abroad; there are more Britons living abroad today than there are non-UK citizens living here. We should never lightly deny the freedom of movement to others that we so fully enjoy ourselves.” Well said! “We” claim the right to migrate to other countries, and most of “us” will certainly keep our “values” and perhaps not even learning the language of the country we are living in. But if “they” come to live among “us”, they have to “integrate”, that is learning “our” language, conforming to “our values” (no wearing of headscarves) and still “they” will be treated as a nuisance at best and sometimes much worse.

Clegg still calls for borders to be controlled more effectively. By the same logic, other countries should not allow so many Britons to immigrate. "We" keep "them" out, but "we" should still be able to go and live "there". There is only one correct policy: abolish the borders and let everybody travel and live where he or she pleases. Not only the rich Westerners, but everybody.