Nitish Kannan

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s when millions of immigrants flooded our shores, no paperwork was required to immigrate. No passports, visas, or work permits. Anyone who could afford a ticket could board a ship, arrive in America, answer a few basic questions, and be on their way. They could stay as long as they wanted, work wherever they wanted, buy property, start businesses, and basically do anything any American citizen could do. In fact, in most states, they could legally vote in local, state, and even national elections, subject to the same poll tax, literacy test, or other qualifications required of American citizens. If they wanted to naturalize, they just needed to register their intent and were given seven years to complete the paperwork necessary to become American citizens, which millions of immigrants were proud to do. Things began to change in the 1930s with the advent of social security numbers, and then more so with the Alien Registration Act of 1940, signed into law as a WWII security measure. When the war ended, instead of being repealed, in 1946 it evolved into what we now call Green Cards. In effect, we had completely open borders and the country thrived. In fact, during the decades we now call the Gilded Age—the high-growth period that Donald Trump claims he wants to emulate—our borders were wide open. The reason this worked so well is that we had no welfare state. People came to America for freedom and opportunity only. They came to contribute to our economy, not live off it. They did not drain our resources; they added to them. The lesson is that immigration is not the problem. The problem is the welfare state. Shut off that magnet and America will no longer attract people looking for free stuff. In fact, we need to turn off that magnet for everyone, so those who are looking for free stuff will leave to seek it out someplace else.