Introduction

Abstract

This book explores the debate over the ethics of immigration by articulating and defending opposing positions on the subject. It asks whether states have the right to prevent potential immigrants from crossing their borders, or whether people should have the freedom to migrate and settle wherever they wish. It first considers the claim that legitimate states are morally entitled to unilaterally design and enforce their own immigration policies based on three core premises: legitimate states are entitled to political self-determination, freedom of association is an integral component of self-determination, and freedom of association entitles one to not associate with others. It then tackles the argument that national borders must be open as part of the commitment to the moral equality of all human beings—which legitimate states can be expected to hold. The book focuses on the coherence and consistency of arguments that seek to morally defend the right of states to control immigration, the right of exclusion. Its central contention is that a morally consistent liberal political theory must embrace freedom of international movement.