printThe Paul immigration ad stated, “No more student visas from terrorist nations.” For this, these same dubious libertarians hysterically condemned him for being a collectivist—he had blanketed certain nations rather than address on merit each and every individual seeking a visa. There we go again.
A clear thinker remains wedded to reality. Libertarians who pride themselves on levitating forever between their theory as to what the world ought to be like and what it is like are anything but clear thinkers.
Policy by definition addresses the collective, not the individual. Duly, the reality-based libertarian will seek to minimize political overreach, not reach for the political Promised Land. Immigration policy by its very nature targets broad categories of individuals: educated as opposed uneducated; law-abiding versus outlaws; healthy, not unhealthy.
The idea that a presidential candidate with a libertarian sensibility—remember, Paul is running as a Republican, not as a Libertarian—must support only policies that treat each and every immigrating individual on his merits is ludicrous, although it allows the lazy libertarian his theoretical purity.
The notion that by saying to a Saudi national “Sorry, you’ll have to study in Riyadh,” one is violating his individual rights is positively stupid.
Back on terra firma a “highly selective immigration policy” can act as “an effective, non-aggressive tactic against terrorism … the perfect complement to a peaceful foreign policy.”