Image from Public Radio Armenia
On my Facebook feed, people began to ask how open borders advocates should think about the Hamas-Israel conflict. Do the homicidal actions of Hamas provide a counterexample to open borders arguments? I say, “not quite.” As you read this, please understand that I in no way approve of the cruelty perpetrated by Hamas. Also, this condemnation is in no way a negation of previous harms suffered by anyone in that region. As Nicholas Kristof said in the New York Times, Israeli and Palestinian children both deserve to be live in peace.
War tends to drive us to extreme positions. Thus, I prefer to start with simple and important points. First, open borders advocates should remain steadfast in affirming the rights of refugees. No matter what happens, justified or not, this war will create tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of refugees. We must insist that these people be allowed to leave Gaza and, should they choose, continue their lives in other places.
Second, a justified war, such as a war to dismantle Hamas, is not a license to make the lives of non-combatants miserable. Any restrictions needed to complete that mission should be terminated quickly after the conclusion of the mission, not become a new set of migration restrictions.
Third, we need to make a big distinction between precautions needed to prevent soldiers from invading your country and the barriers designed to slow down migration. The later provides a false sense of security for migration restrictionists. As we saw last week, a war making organization will not really be deterred by border walls or barbed wire. These measures just make the lives of average people miserable without stopping actual invaders.
Finally, locking down borders creates a free play zone for criminals. In the US, migration restrictions have resulted in a system of human smugglers, which often leads to people dying. Similarly, the strong restriction of movement in that part of the world has encouraged a system of tunnels that Hamas has used for years to circumvent border control points.
Are some forms of movement restriction justified in an extreme case? Maybe, but don’t let extreme situations lead you away from sound thinking.
Bottom line: No policy position will hold in all cases, but there’s certainly a lot that open borders brings to the table.
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Thanks for all advices and arguments. I grew up during a war myself and know how it feels to be isolated from the rest of the world.