Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
I am sure there is a range of opinion among libertarians on the issue. Like the Tea Party, libertarians are not a monolith.
That said, libertarian groups like Cato have consistently pushed immigration "reform" and poo-pooed the costs. A familiar saying has been that labor should be as free to cross borders as capital.
The problem with such noble sentiments is they get bogged down in the real world. Yes, it is a good idea for Mexican farm workers to be able to come in and harvest crops. Then go home. The last part is the issue. At one point they did go home, then the immigrants rights groups and farmers unions got involved and told them, why go home? Stay here and get wlefare. After all, they owe you. this is your land rightfully. They stole it from you.
Immigration activists are actually deadset against guest worker programs. They say it exposes workers to exploitation. The obvious real reason is that of they go home, they can't vote. They can;t have anchor babies, and they can;t justify huge welfare programs.
Like others, I have a ton of time for libertarian ideas, but on this issue they are dead wrong. Unfortunately, it is such a make or break issue that we can't just agree to disagree.