I am seeing kind of a heartless argument from so call Social Democrats online.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I was having this discussion with a so called Social Democrat and he said liberal immigration laws prevent us from having a social democracy because there would be more people than benefits. Set aside the argument that immigrants pay taxes it seems like a heartless argument. If I see someone hurting I don't inquire where they are from.


BTW, I favor a sane immigration policy. Obviously you need enforceable borders.

[JHan]

1. It's anti-liberal, and I always side eye liberals who use the word "Illegal"

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Agree! The heart of liberalism is protection of the vulnerable among us against the deplorables.

It has been our fight for decades; centuries even, no matter what party name we went by.

To me, this is not negotiable.

If the Democratic party leaves the fight for equality, leaves the fight for women, leaves the fight for minorities, leaves the fight for the vulnerable, I will join whoever takes up that fight.

[Demsrule86]

2. I agree...there is a callousness that is disturbing.

[FarCenter]

3. How many 10s of millions do you think we should admit?

This means that, in 2013, 767 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day, down from 881 million in 2012 and 1.85 billion in 1990.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. We need to enforce our borders.

We need to enforce our borders. We need a sane immigration policy. That being said there should be a path to citizenship for the undocumented workers and their families that are already here that meet certain criteria. The criterions would include how long they have been here, if they have a clean legal record, and are contributing members of society.

[NCTraveler]

9. "Obviously you need enforceable borders. "

I think that is a line from the op.

[LanternWaste]

10. It can indeed, be difficult to recognize relevant qualifiers in an OP.

It can indeed, be difficult to recognize relevant qualifiers in an OP.

[sfwriter]

4. That argument was self contradictory...

Immigration could be the solution to our demographic ills. We should welcome immigrants who will be paying into the system.

You are right, it is morally deaf at best and heartless at worst.

[Uponthegears]

6. What "social democrat" have you been having that discussion with?

The idea that "liberal immigration laws" prevent, or even hinder, economic/social justice isn't just heartless and, as you point out, also factually incorrect, it's not even left-wing.

Send the scoundrel to me.

[BainsBane]

8. It's a nativist/racist argument

First of all, the population of the US would continue to decline if not for immigration because birthrates trend downward.
Secondly, a society can set benefits at any level they want. As you noted, immigrants, even undocumented immigrants, pay taxes.
One could therefore conceivably argue that it is immigrants that enable us to maintain safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare.