Liberal Road Blog Individual Freedom and Equality

Earlier this week the Immigration court in Sweden decided that some Iraqi refugees can be deported to some parts (mainly north) of Iraq. According to the court there isn’t a military conflict in Iraq as defined juridically. That’s why some deportations are possible. This decision has been criticized and even the minister of foreign affairs has expressed some concerns over the issue (source: Svenska Dagbladet, in Swedish).

I’d like to point attention here to one thing that hasn’t been debated that much. The critics have been about whether or not Iraq is safe enough, but not about why in the first place we are deporting people.

I believe that deporting people is very discriminating: if you are a citizen you can stay, but if you are not you don’t have this right. This puts people in different situations based on where they were born or who their parents are.

Moreover when the deportation is due to crimes committed in the country, it is actually a second punishment you get because you are a foreigner. First you are punished for the crime and if you are a foreigner you get this second punishment: deportation.

Some people argue that the deportation of criminals are right because it protects the country from further crimes. But this is only a way to move the problem to foreign countries, not to solve it. And if we are deporting non-citizen criminals, shouldn’t we actually deport ALL criminals, even citizens, to be consequent? I believe that no: we shouldn’t deport anyone at all.

Basically everyone should be free to go to whatever country they want to and even settle there. Country borders and immigration laws are artificial boundaries violating our individual freedom.

Any opinions about the subject?

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Immigration should be completely free. Yes, I support free immigration and oppose immigration laws restricting foreigner’s rights to come in a country. The world shouldn’t have country borders we are not allowed to cross.

I know this is not a widely supported position in the political debates worldwide. It´s a pity : it should be much more discussed as an option.

One of the most basical reasons why I oppose laws restricting immigration is that they limit the freedom of individuals in an unacceptable way. Depending on the nationality you have you will be allowed to move to only certain countries. Other countries you may only visit as a tourist, but are not allowed to move there.

One common argument for limiting foreigners’ right to come and work in a country is that foreigners are taking the jobs and thus creating unemployment. But why should the citizens of this country have a higher right to the jobs than foreigners? Why would some people have a priority to jobs?

Furthermore, immigration can also benefit the country welcoming immigrants: people from different cultures have different points of views, ideas and this enriches the culture of this country.

Immigration laws are also very unfair. Depending of where you were born or who your parents are (and thus the nationality you get) you have completely different rights. If you are from a poor country, for example an African country, you’ll need visas to enter pretty much any country and there are usually loads of requirements to fulfill. If you are from a rich country, you won’t need visas in many cases and the requirements are much smaller.

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