Can liberalism justify immigration restrictions? The arguments from freedom of association and the right to avoid unwanted obligations

Abstract

There are a number of seemingly liberal arguments against immigration, but most of them end up appealing to other values such as the nation, democracy, social justice, and security. This paper considers two arguments that appeal to genuinely liberal values (freedom of association and the right to avoid unwanted obligations), and argues that neither is able to justify immigration restrictions. The first confuses the state with a voluntary association, whereas the second depends on an implicit premise that involves a circular reasoning. In conclusion, following Freiman and Hidalgo (2016), one can have “liberalism or immigration restrictions, but not both”.