Melania, Usha, and Open Borders
Migration helps us love better
I want people to notice a fun fact about the spouses of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who was just chosen for the GOP VP spot. Trump’s current wife is Melania, a migrant from Slovenia, and Vance is married to Usha, the daughter of two immigrant Indian academics.
At first, you might think I am raising this as an example of hypocrisy. Sure, it’s true. Trump and Vance married the women they love but they propose rules that make the same love impossible for millions of other people. It doesn’t settle the argument. In theory, you can cook up an argument about why migration should be ok for some people but not others. But as loyal readers know, those sorts of arguments are weak.
The real reason I bring up Melania and Usha is to draw attention to a powerful argument in favor of open borders and unregulated immigration: love. You may fall in love with an immigrant. It may sound sentimental, but it’s no less important than economic things like whether immigration affects labor markets, or how many taxes they pay.
But why stop there? Why not consider the more intangible aspects of migration? You may think it’s odd, but we do it all the time. For example, one popular, if mistaken, argument in favor of migration restriction is that new people will somehow undermine the culture of natives. If you consider culture to be an important issue, why not consider how those same migration restrictions affect the ability to love, or get married, or have a family with an immigrant? Don’t we all know someone whose family was split apart by migration rules? Or whose spouse had to wait a year or two while immigration officials processed their paperwork? If Donald Trump and J.D. Vance can find love from around the world, why can’t all Americans enjoy the same privilege?
Bottom line: Open borders is a pro-love and pro-family policy.
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