Let Them in: The Case for Open Borders

by Jason L. Riley

Book Overview

A conservative columnist makes an eye-opening case for why immigration improves the lives of Americans and is important for the future of the country. He argues that our open-immigration policy goes a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592403492
• ISBN13: 9781592403493
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Gotham Books
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

pursuasive

In one sentence, "This book set my mind right on immigration". I was on the wrong side of this. Jason Riley brought me to the good guy camp. Jump on in GOP, the water is fine.

A case well argued

The thinking on the immigration, both in the US and even more so in other countries, is dominated by emotional arguments. In the light of that it is truly refreshing to come across a book like "Let Them In" where a principled free-market conservative ideas are promoted. In an era when there is an increasing interconnection and interdependence of world economies on each other, it becomes ever more untenable to insist on free exchange of goods and services, while preventing the free flow of people. This is particularly true in the light of the fact that it is precisely the human capital that drives most of the advanced economies forward. Reilly is a journalist for Wall Street Journal, and this is reflected in his accessible and engaging writing style. The book is an easy read, well researched, and clear in its arguments. It is quite possible that there are flaws in those arguments, but if there are any they should be dealt on the intellectual and not personal level. The issues dealt in this book are already rife with passions on both sides of the debate and it is not helpful if they are only dealt in the lowest-common-denominator manner. Hopefully this book will help create a way for this debate to be elevated to a higher level of discourse.

A book that covers the issues

Having been a Ron Paul supporter (even back in 1988) I have wondered why he has seemingly been a closed border restrictionist given his life-long study of Austrian economics which I would presume would imply an open borders position (I am still unsure why). The book does a great job of covering the top 6 reasons why politicians and pundits pursue limited immigration policies. The author Mr. Riley knocks down all the reasons for opposing immigration. You may wish to note the reasons given by negative reviewers, they are all fully addressed in the book. My book was paid for as part of a seminar but is well worth the retail price.

Excellent and a must read!

This is for the people who believes in Riley's ideology and for non-believers because it debunks a lot of their assertions. It is a quick read with excellent topics and sources.

First clear-minded immigration meta-analysis

I'm going to start this review by saying that I'm an academic, and I've been pretty appalled by what has passed for 'debate' on immigration in the last few years. As Riley recounts, most of the national dialog has been hijacked by xenophobes, reactionary nativists and populists of the worst variety (you know, the ones who pander to the absolute lowest reactionary instincts - Dobbs, O'Reilly etc). You can imagine my relief to read this book, which is perhaps the first (in my view) to give a balanced reading of the economic literature of immigration studies. Riley cites, quotes and critiques various (strong, academic) studies and in the end he proposes an intervention. Perfect. I highly recommend this book for anybody who is trying to understand how immigration policy should be catered to the USA's needs, especially academics who are not wholly familiar with the area. My criticisms of this book are twofold. First, I wish he had started the book with a more nonpartisan outlook, then used the evidence to arrive at a logical policy conclusion. Instead, he starts each section with a populist myth which he proceeds to discuss (mostly disprove), but wherein Riley's own feelings become clear. Secondly, I wish he had gone into more depth in his citations of academic immigration studies to give readers more of an idea of the methodologies that social scientists use, to let us judge for ourselves the soundness of the evidence that he cites. All in all, a good read; a must buy!