Opinion: Susan Shelley: Open borders threaten American sovereignty and undermine the interests of Americans
Editor’s note: This commentary was originally published in print on May 14 as part of a pro-con debate page. To read the counterpoint, clickIt seems to me so obvious that the United States should not have open borders that the question answers itself. However, since a question doesn’t literally answer itself, I’ll answer it.
There is a process for the exercise of government power. It’s in writing, in the federal and state constitutions, in federal and state law, in county and city charters and codes, and in court decisions applying those words to the facts of specific cases and controversies. This is what “the consent of the governed” looks like in practice.
But the national border is different. The U.S. government has the power and the responsibility to secure the nation’s borders against invasion, however that is defined. Today’s question is really this: Should the people of the United States give their consent, through a constitutional amendment, to allow anyone in the world to enter the United States as freely as a U.S. citizen travels within the interior?The United States, and California in particular, have a generous social safety net funded by taxpayers. People in financial need are eligible for many benefits.
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