Immigration Reform: Arguments for Open Borders

     I'm always troubled when people talk about immigration reforms as either things that do not affect them, or as if they themselves do not come from a family of immigrants. I'm also troubled when those talking about it do not understand all the principals (economic, social, political and environmental) that surround it.
       Economically speaking - immigration helps markets in laissez faire capitalist mode by providing truly open border countries and the free flow of capital and labor. Countries where laissez faire is the common place have little to no regulations on the flow of labor and capital. And while this is a very reckless approach towards creating sustainable communities where people can thrive, it is the mode of thought which many in our country like to place themselves in. Yet these people, the very same who identify as capitalists, say "no" to immigration and open borders. As such they are hypocrites as a truly free market cannot exist with governmental restrictions on the flow of labor.
     Socially speaking, many defenders of closed borders do not have a grasp of their own family histories. All of these people are from families that immigrated here from Europe or Asia in the past 200 years; a full 200+ years after the ancestors of these "new immigrants" came to the new world. As such, if time on the land was a predecessor towards who is the immigrant and who is not then all the people who disagree with an open border need to be deported back to their homelands.
     Politically driven border closings happen all  the time and the United States is not immune to these things. One of the reasons for our restrictive borders is our poor political policies with neighboring countries - namely Mexico and especially NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). NAFTA flooded Mexico with cheap corn and forced local farmers (mainly those in Northern Mexico) into bankruptcy. As a result they had to search for new sources of income with the most promising source being the very nation that placed them into bankruptcy.
     Environmental issues always seem to draw the most sympathy votes from the populace - from pictures of cute baby seals being clubbed to death to dolphins bleeding in nets. As such it is important to note that closed borders, namely when they come equipped with walls and fences, destroy ecosystems by creating barriers to water, plants and animals. Borders that create situations where illegal immigration is faster then legal means also create huge piles of waste in otherwise pristine locales and watering spots.
     All in all borders are a bad idea, be you a capitalist or communist - their negative impacts far outweigh their benefits.