Bordertarians Here?
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To say that the border situation is a hot topic would be an understatement. When it comes to libertarian views on the issue though it is far different arguments you will hear than the expected ones you will hear from the two major parties. All you hear from the two major parties is how much enforcement and regulation should be on the border, be it more or less. Many libertarians view it as a property rights issue and if the government is allowed to even maintain a border or consider it the state’s property. As for right now the Libertarian Party does hold the platform that the state should have a border but that crossing said border for reasons of trade and migration are essentially unrestricted. Until recently the LP supported restricting crossing boarders of those that intended to do harm though, but now that stipulation has been removed from the party platform. This is where we at CBL have issue with not only the LP but many libertarians that call for an open border with no restrictions.
Where we agree with most libertarians and the LP is that restrictions on trade a movement across borders should be unrestricted. With the exception of security being relaxed. Freedom of self and movement should not be restricted by state borders. As an individual one should be able to move between lines on a map with little to resistance. We here at CBL do feel that security is a duty that the state has a role in fulfilling and should provide that service. That service should be provided at the border and with the intent of least knowing who is entering your country and if those entering have the intent to do harm or not is not only reasonable but something we should want the government to do. Yes we here understand the slippery slope and danger that is forever present when the state is asked to perform a task no matter how small, the government will try to grow at the expense of the people’s rights and monies. The risk is sadly though just too high.
To try and wrap this up, we want to make clear that we believe the current immigration process to the United States needs a lot of work, pretty much take it down and startover kinda work. That said, open borders is not the way to go, the security risk sadly, due to many of our own country’s blunders, is just too high. Leaving ourselves exposed and open to the potential harm that can come our way with no vetting process is just careless and irresponsible.
Due to the recent changes in the LP’s platforms language we here will be working with allies to get the language reverted back to it’s previous text. We want the platform to read, ““We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property.” The line in bold was been removed from the party platform and we here at CBL want to see the language instated. More on this in the future.
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Keep that coffee warm for us.
LWS
