President Donald Trump claimed in a statement that his tariffs would help with “the major threat of illegal aliens.” This is a puzzling claim. While it might be true that tariffs can be used as a tool for negotiations with Mexico, immigration control and trade barriers are contradictory policies. Tariffs increase the incentive to immigrate—illegally […]
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President Donald Trump claimed in a statement that his tariffs would help with “the major threat of illegal aliens.” This is a puzzling claim. While it might be true that tariffs can be used as a tool for negotiations with Mexico, immigration control and trade barriers are contradictory policies. Tariffs increase the incentive to immigrate—illegally immigrate.
In his 1998 paper “The Case for Free Trade and Restricted Immigration,” economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe wrote:
