The Jewish Case for Open Borders

Immigration has become so central to US politics today that it's hard to remember how rarely it flickered into the national spotlight before 2016. Prior to Donald Trump's election, both parties agreed on the need for border enforcement, with the GOP routinely accusing Democrats of being soft on "illegals" and the Democrats responding with vigorous deportation campaigns. But the explicit racism of the Trump era, with its Muslim travel ban and the daily outrages of family separation and detention, has galvanized a large-scale protest movement. Jews have been especially active in this mobilization, driven by their social liberalism, their sense of religious duty, or both. Synagogue networks sprang up to offer aid to refugees, while groups like Jews United for Justice and Jewish Voice for Peace have been a visible presence at protest rallies. The role of Trump advisers Stephen Miller and Jared Kushner has at times made the fight seem unusually personal—even familial. Miller's uncle, a neuroscientist, has been welcomed onto the public stage for his denunciations of his nephew's immigration policies, which the elder Miller has characterized as hypocritical: the Millers' not-so-distant Jewish ancestors were, of course, immigrants themselves.