14A029 Immigration to a Free Society by Jim Davies, 7/29/2014    

In a new twist on what some see as an immigration "crisis", over 50,000 children have made their way to the US this year. When the Former USA's government has evaporated, will it be swamped and sunk by massive waves of immigration? - it's a fair question, given that no laws will exist to inhibit free movement, and that the disparity in living standards between those in the FUSA and any neighbors still ruled by a government will grow rapidly larger with time.

The first thing to note is that all parts of the FUSA will be privately owned. There will be no such thing as "public land" but each owner will control access to his own lot - whether that lot is a conventional home or farm, or a game preserve, or whether it's a road ending where the border of Canada or Mexico begins.

When a property does face such a border, the owner will decide what to do - and there will be as many immigration policies as there will be owners. Some will post notices forbidding entry, and take steps to enforce that. Many will post welcome signs with entrance fees specified (in silver, no doubt.) When the land is a road-ending, it is hardly conceivable that the owner will forbid entry, for his purpose in owning the road is to attract toll-paying customers and he could care less from what "country" they come.

For as long as governed areas survive next to such border properties (and it will be a very temporary survival, for residents will be rushing to follow our example and stop working for their governments) it may be that laws will be erected to prohibit emigration. In that case emigrants will want to avoid obvious crossing points like roads and look for hospitable owners out of sight of the border goons. So farmers and other owners will be able to run a handy trade welcoming them for a small fee and helping them on their way.

Once a "foreigner" has come, what happens next? - for there will be no government processing centers or immigration tribunals. If the newcomer cannot pay his way (in real money, not the fiat stuff he may be used to) then, unless a charity lends a hand, he will starve - like anyone else. Therefore, news having traveled fast on the bush telegraph, all who do come will have some plans for sustaining themselves. The obvious way will be to offer their skills for hire. If the newcomer has decent skills and speaks good English, he will take place in the labor market at once, and prosper.

If however he has few skills or speaks no English, demand for his labor will be low and its price will therefore not be high. There will of course be no "minimum wage" laws, so this fact will deter such people from arriving in the first place; more work for the bush telegraph.

In that way an equilibrium will be found, between supply and demand; the labor market will function properly and clear, for the first time in about a century and a half. Whether that brings a big increase in FUSA population is really hard to predict; but here are the factors applying.

At first, there will be a supply surplus because about 40 million ex-government workers will still be finding alternative, productive work. That will drive down the prevailing price of labor. But after a year or two of unshackled enterprise, the economy will be booming at an unprecedented rate and that surplus will be reversed; demand for, and the price of, labor will rise. That in turn will attract immigrants from outside the existing population.

However, at the very same time, other countries will be throwing off the government yoke, following our example and method; and since nobody wants to leave home without a powerful reason, I believe most will stay there and build a free society where they live. The countries where (within say 5 years of E-Day) that is not taking place will for the most part be those where little English is known, news tightly censored, and religion and culture have little place for individual freedom. I don't expect to see many immigrants from there but the process of zeroizing government will take rather longer; think Iraq and North Korea.

In all countries at that time the Statue of Liberty will begin to do what was always intended by the French libertarians who collected funds to build it: the idea was not that the statue would say "Come and join us" but rather "Do what we're doing." Some will emulate us quickly, some much more slowly; but that is what will happen and for that reason the flow of immigrants to this zero government society will be healthy, but not overwhelming.