For the earliest days of man, people have been forced to flee their ancestral lands. They left with nothing, not knowing where they were being taken, and arriving in a place very far from home where circumstances and people were different from what they had always known and where resources were scarce. Individuals, families, tribes, and nations have been on the move for centuries where, political and economic factors, including wars; environmental challenges; and racism, xenophobia, and religious discrimination have at times uprooted people and at others lured them to new venues across continents. .
Today, migration is a critical international issue and a necessary option for millions of human beings. Some people seek to move voluntarily; others have no alternatives and are forced. Some of the factors that have contributed to an increase in the scale of international migration include growing disparities in living conditions, and violent conflicts both within and between countries. Many are seeking employment or educational opportunities, others want to reunite with family members and more are fleeing persecution, conflict or violence in their countries. .
Therefore, freedom of movement is one of the most basic human rights, as anyone who is denied it can confirm. It is abhorrent that the rich and the educated are allowed to circulate around the world more or less freely, while the poor are not - causing, in effect, a form of global apartheid. So I think the burden of proof lies with supporters of immigration controls to justify why they think letting people move freely would have such catastrophic consequences. The economic case for open borders is as compelling as the moral one. Despite difficulties and frictions between developed and developing countries, most governments try to liberalize the flow of goods and services across (as evidenced in the talks within the WTO). Why aren't these governments doing the same about the movement of people who produce goods and services? When it comes to the domestic economy, politicians and policymakers are forever urging people to be more mobile, and to move to where the jobs are.
