Immigration Law and the Right to Migrate

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Migration Rights, Natural Law, and the Free Society by Joe Klesney, Acton Institute Policy Analyst [The following is excerpted from an Acton Institute Commentary that discusses the moral and religious foundations of the freedom to move. Follow the link at the bottom for the full text of this Commentary.] Freedom is an ideal long valued by citizens of the United States. By the very nature of the founding of this country, the right to act freely is recognized and celebrated. Though their views were steeped in intellect and morality, many of the Founding Fathers embraced the concept of natural law when organizing the precepts of this nation. Natural law states that all men have certain rights endowed by God, their creator; it relates not only to American citizens but to all humans on God's Earth. Writers of positive law recently took steps to recognize the right to migrate as granted by natural law: the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 was signed into law last month. Among other provisions this act increases the annual number of nonimmigrant H-1B visas, which grant temporary residence for those with Masters degrees or higher, for 2000-2002 by 195,000. In other words, more highly skilled people who desire to work in the U.S. will be allowed to do so. From a moral perspective, the freedom of movement is a right all should be afforded in order to improve economic, political, and spiritual situations for the family. As Pope John Paul II explains in the encyclical letter Laborem Exercens, "Man has the right to leave his native land for various motives--and also the right to return--in order to seek better conditions of life in another country." Why should a family be kept out of a country that offers better hopes for raising a family? Is that not the reason America was first settled? . . . The Founding Fathers called this the land of opportunity. And by affording that opportunity to more people, the country prospers. --Policy Analyst Joe Klesney, for the Acton Institute Click here for full text of this commentary. The above link it to the Acton Institute's most recent commentary. In case it no longer links to the Migration commentary, click here for the archive which will include "Migration Rights, Natural Law, and the Free Society," (as of Nov. 29, it is the "Current Commentary").