Alex Nowrasteh

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Alex Nowrasteh
Alex Nowrasteh by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Nowrasteh in 2017
Born
Alexander Nowrasteh

California, U.S.
Alma mater George Mason University (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)
OccupationImmigration policy analyst
Board member ofCenter for Global Liberty and Prosperity of the Cato Institute

Alexander Nowrasteh is an American analyst of immigration policy currently working at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank located in Washington D.C. Nowrasteh is an advocate of freer migration to the United States. [1] He previously worked as the immigration policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, another libertarian think tank. [2] Nowrasteh is a self-described "radical" advocate for open borders to and from the United States. [3] He has published a number of peer-reviewed studies on immigration and co-authored with Benjamin Powell the book Wretched Refuse?: The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions. [4]

Contents

In January 2013, ABC News listed Nowrasteh as #15 on a list of top 20 immigration experts to follow on Twitter in the United States. [5] In July 2013, The National Journal magazine ran a feature in its print edition about Nowrasteh entitled "The Libertarian Case," that featured an interview and discussion of immigration. [6] He has faced criticism from conservatives for his views on immigration and other topics. [7] [8]

Early life and education

Alex Nowrasteh was born and raised in Southern California to Iranian American Cyrus Nowrasteh (a filmmaker) and his wife Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh (who has collaborated with Cyrus on some of his film projects). Alex completed a B.A. in economics from George Mason University and a M.Sc. in economic history from the London School of Economics where he authored a dissertation about the economics of counter-insurgency strategy. [1]

Publications

In April 2013, Nowrasteh wrote a blog post critical of a 2007 study conducted by Robert Rector and published by The Heritage Foundation that attempted to estimate the long-term fiscal impact of various immigration policies. It delayed the release of Heritage's updated study and placed it under severe scrutiny by academics and other policy analysts – substantially diminishing its influence. [9] On the day of the publication of the Heritage report (May 6, 2013), Nowrasteh participated in a press call strongly critiquing the study, along with people from Americans for Tax Reform, the Kemp Foundation, and the American Action Network. [10]

On September 13, 2016, the Cato Institute published a Policy Analysis by Nowrasteh on "Terrorism and Immigration: A Risk Analysis." [11] He notes that, "Terrorism is a hazard to human life and material prosperity that should be addressed in a sensible manner whereby the benefits of actions to contain it outweigh the costs. ... [T]he chance of an American perishing in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil that was committed by a foreigner over the 41-year period studied here is 1 in 3.6 million per year. The hazard posed by foreigners who entered on different visa categories varies considerably. For instance, the chance of an American being murdered in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee is 1 in 3.64 billion per year while the chance of being murdered in an attack committed by an illegal immigrant is an astronomical 1 in 10.9 billion per year. By contrast, the chance of being murdered by a tourist on a B visa, the most common tourist visa, is 1 in 3.9 million per year. Any government response to terrorism must take account of the wide range of hazards posed by foreign-born terrorists who entered under various visa categories."

Nowrasteh (along with Michelangelo Landgrave) used a residual statistical technique to estimate the number of illegal immigrants who are incarcerated in a Cato report entitled "Criminal Immigrants: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin." [12] Their main finding was that "[t]he incarceration rate was 1.53 percent for natives, 0.85 percent for illegal immigrants, and 0.47 percent for legal immigrants."

Nowrasteh's academic research largely focuses on how immigrants could affect the economic institutions in destination countries. A paper by Nowrasteh on the subject in collaboration with George Mason University doctoral student Zachary Gochenour found that immigration to the United States appeared to have not had a significant impact on the welfare state viewed in either per capita or aggregate terms. The authors summarized their findings and the policy implications in an op-ed for Investors Business Daily . [13] Ilya Somin discussed the policy implications of the research in an article for The Washington Post''. [14] In May 2014, the Cato Institute published a working paper co-authored by Nowrasteh (along with J. R. Clark, Robert Lawson, Benjamin Powell, and Ryan Murphy) on the impact of immigration on institutions. The paper was later published by the journal Public Choice in April 2015. [15] Nowrasteh (along with J.R. Clark, and Benjamin Powell) also authored "Does mass immigration destroy institutions? 1990s Israel as a natural experiment" in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. [16] In 2019, Nowrasteh published another study in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization which concluded that there was "no relationship between immigration and terrorism, whether measured by the number of attacks or victims, in destination countries... These results hold for immigrants from both Muslim majority and conflict-torn countries of origin." [17]

Other publications

Nowrasteh has co-authored two academic papers that appeared in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization . The first with Benjamin Powell and Ryan Ford was an analysis of how Somalia's economy functioned in a stateless society. [18] [19] The second was co-authored with Professor Pete Leeson of George Mason University and is about the economics of ransom bonds, a peculiar financial instrument used in piracy during the Napoleonic Wars. [20]

Nowrasteh has also co-authored an academic paper on privateers with Alex Tabarrok that appeared in the Fletcher Security Review and another academic paper about the impact of immigration on economic freedom that appeared in the journal Public Choice. [21] The latter had numerous co-authors.

A 2019 study by Nowrasteh appeared in The World Bank Economic Review. The study found that the influx of Kuwaiti-Palestinian (Palestinians who had worked and lived in Kuwait for decades) refugees into Jordan from during the Gulf War had long-lasting positive effects on Jordanian economic institutions. [22]

Commentary

Nowrasteh has been a blogger/guest contributor for the Huffington Post , [23] for Forbes magazine, [24] and for The Hill. [25] In addition, he has written pieces for National Journal, [26] Reuters , [27] and many other major newspapers. [28] Nowrasteh has also been quoted as an expert in mainstream press pieces on immigration. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cato Institute</span> American libertarian think tank

The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries. Cato was established to focus on public advocacy, media exposure, and societal influence.

The libertarian perspective on immigration is often regarded as one of the core concepts of libertarian theory and philosophy. There is considerable disagreement among libertarians as to what stance towards immigration best accords with libertarian principles. Some hold that restrictions on immigration are an infringement of the rights of immigrants and other property owners and constitute a threat to individual liberty. Others maintain that open borders amount to a policy of forced integration on the part of the state, and that protecting the rights of property holders requires that present governments adopt much more discriminatory policies on who is allowed to enter a country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diversity Immigrant Visa</span> Immigration lottery for entry into the United States

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, is a United States government lottery program for receiving an immigrant visa followed by a permanent resident card. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program.

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an American anti-immigration think tank. It favors far lower immigration numbers and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graham alongside eugenicist and white nationalist John Tanton in 1985 as a spin-off of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). It is one of a number of anti-immigration organizations founded by Tanton, along with FAIR and NumbersUSA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration</span> Movement of people into another country or region to which they are not native

Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short-term stays in a destination country do not fall under the definition of immigration or migration; seasonal labour immigration is sometimes included, however.

Illegal immigration, or unauthorized immigration, occurs when foreign nationals, known as aliens, violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully, or by lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole or temporary protected status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Rector</span>

Robert E. Rector is a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation focused on poverty issues. Rector has written over 300 reports, articles, and commentaries on public policy and has testified before Congress more than 40 times. His writings include the book America's Failed $5.4 Trillion War on Poverty.

Immigration and crime explores whether there is a relationship between criminal activity and the phenomenon of immigration. Most studies show that immigration has either no or minimal impact on crime, while other studies have found it increases crime under certain conditions. Immigrants are disproportionately represented in the prison populations of many Western countries, with the notable exception of the United States. There is little evidence that migration unconditionally leads to more terrorist activity, especially in Western countries, and the effectiveness of stopping migration on preventing terrorism is rather limited. Research on the relationship between refugee migration and crime is ambiguous, and does not increase crime in resettlement programs like that of the United States, which screen-out high-risk individuals.

An immigration tariff or migrant levy is a charge levied on immigrants wanting permanent residency within a nation. As a means of applying price theory to a nation's immigration policy, it is generally advocated as an alternative to existing bureaucratic procedures as a means of moderating or better regulating the flow of immigration to a given level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ray Clark</span> Economist

Jeff Ray Clark is an American economist specializing in public finance, public choice, and managerial economics. He is the Scott L. Probasco, Jr. Chair of Free Enterprise at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

To measure the impact that illegal immigrants is hard to accurately display for a plethora of reasons. Not only are we using rough estimations on the number of illegal immigrants in our country but also having to decipher who many resources they are using and if their children are also using the resources that are handed out. Some research shows that illegal immigrants increase the size of the U.S. economy/contribute to economic growth, enhance the welfare of natives, contribute more in tax revenue than they collect, reduce American firms' incentives to offshore jobs and import foreign-produced goods, and benefit consumers by reducing the prices of goods and services. On the other hand, there is data that shows that illegal immigrants are using programs that the government provides.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council, a 501(c)(3) organization in the United States dedicated to promoting immigration to the United States and protecting the rights and privileges of immigrants in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Powell</span> American economist (born 1978)

Benjamin W. "Ben" Powell is the director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and professor of economics at Texas Tech University's Rawls College of Business. He is also a junior fellow at the Independent Institute and the South American editor of the Review of Austrian Economics.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAISE Act</span> Proposed bill first introduced in the United States Senate

The RAISE Act is a bill first introduced in the United States Senate in 2017. Co-sponsored by Republican senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, the bill sought to reduce levels of legal immigration to the United States by 50% by halving the number of green cards issued. The bill would also dramatically reduce family-based immigration pathways; impose a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions a year; end the visa diversity lottery; and eliminate the current demand-driven model of employment-based immigration and replace it with a points system. The bill received the support of President Donald Trump, who promoted a revised version of the bill in August 2017, and was opposed by Democrats, immigrant rights groups, and some Republicans.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Alex Nowrasteh". Cato Institute . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Alex Nowrasteh". Competitive Enterprise Institute. January 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The case for open borders". Vox. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ Nowrasteh, Alex; Powell, Benjamin (2020). Wretched Refuse?: The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1108477635.
  5. ↑ "20 Immigration Experts To Follow on Twitter". ABC News . January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ Terris, Ben (July 13, 2013). "The Libertarian Case for Immigration Reform". National Journal . Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ Jim Geraghty, https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/12/conservatives-political-correctness-alex-nowrasteh-wrong "There Is No Right-Wing Equivalent to Political Correctness" December 12, 2016
  8. ↑ Richwine, Jason (May 15, 2018). "Obfuscating the Immigrant-Welfare Debate". National Review . ISSN   0028-0038.
  9. ↑ Rubin, Jennifer (April 23, 2013). "Eight reasons for optimism on immigration reform". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  10. ↑ Rubin, Jennifer (May 6, 2013). "Conservative leaders slam Heritage for shoddy immmigration[sic] study". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ Nowrasteh, Alex (September 13, 2016). Terrorism and Immigration: A Risk Analysis (Policy Analysis). Cato Institute. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  12. ↑ Landgrave, Michelangelo; Nowrasteh, Alex (March 15, 2017). "Criminal Immigrants: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin" (Immigration Research and Policy Brief) (1). Cato Institute.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ Nowrasteh, Alex; Gochenour, Zachary (February 14, 2014). "No, Immigrants Won't Make Welfare State Bigger". Investors Business Daily . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Somin, Ilya (February 18, 2014). "Increased immigration is unlikely to increase the size of the welfare state". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ Clark, J. R.; Lawson, Robert; Nowrasteh, Alex; Powell, Benjamin; Murphy, Ryan (2015). "Does immigration impact institutions?" (PDF). Public Choice. 163 (3–4): 321–335. doi:10.1007/s11127-015-0254-y. S2CID   55968273.
  16. ↑ Powell, Benjamin; Clark, J.R.; Nowrasteh, Alex (2017). "Does mass immigration destroy institutions? 1990s Israel as a natural experiment". Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 141: 83–95. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2017.06.008.
  17. ↑ Forrester, Andrew C.; Powell, Benjamin; Nowrasteh, Alex; Landgrave, Michelangelo (August 8, 2019). "Do immigrants import terrorism?". Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 166: 529–543. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2019.07.019. ISSN   0167-2681. S2CID   202308892.
  18. ↑ Powell, Benjamin (September 2008). "Somalia after State Collapse: Chaos or Improvement?". Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 67 (3–4): 657–670. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.365.6345 . doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2008.04.008.
  19. ↑ Powell, Benjamin (November 2006). "In Reply To Sweatshop Sophistries" (PDF). 28 (4). Human Rights Quarterly . Retrieved February 5, 2014.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ↑ "Was Privateering Plunder Efficient?" . Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ Clark, J. R. (2015). "Does Immigration Impact Institutions?" (PDF). Public Choice. 163 (3–4): 321–335. doi:10.1007/s11127-015-0254-y. S2CID   55968273.
  22. ↑ Blondin, Cole; Forrester, Andrew C.; Nowrasteh, Alex (2019). "How Mass Immigration Affects Countries with Weak Economic Institutions: A Natural Experiment in Jordan" (PDF). The World Bank Economic Review. 34 (2): 533–549. doi:10.1093/wber/lhy032. hdl: 10986/31559 .
  23. ↑ "Alex Nowrasteh". The Huffington Post . Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Alex Nowrasteh". Forbes . Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Brat's immigration stance doesn't square with his free-market flair". June 11, 2014.
  26. ↑ Nowrasteh, Alex (July 10, 2012). "Opinion: In Praise of Birthright Citizenship". National Journal. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  27. ↑ Nowrasteh, Alex (January 29, 2013). "Immigration Plan Does Only Half the Job". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Alex Nowrasteh".
  29. ↑ Bennett, Bryan (January 21, 2013). "Republican allies advocate for immigration reform". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 1, 2013.
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