A Debate on Immigration

Immigration remains one of the most contested issues in American politics, touching questions of economic growth, national security, cultural assimilation, and enforcement at every level. Amid these debates, one question cuts to the core: has the United States reached its limit on legal immigration, or is there room — and reason — for more? David Bier and Charles C.W. Cooke will face off on that question, moderated by Daniel Di Martino, in a debate on the resolution: the United States should permit more legal immigration. This event is co-presented by National Review and Old Parkland. Resolution: The United States should permit more legal immigration. Arguing in Favor: David Bier, Director, Immigration Studies, and the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, Cato Institute Arguing Against: Charles C.W. Cooke, Senior Editor, National Review Moderating: Daniel Di Martino, Fellow, Manhattan Institute Bios: David J. Bier David J. Bier is the Director of Immigration Studies and occupies the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy at the Cato Institute. He is an expert on legal immigration, border security, and interior enforcement. Bier's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and many other print and online publications. The U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appeals courts have cited his research and writing, and he has testified before House and Senate committees on several occasions. From 2013 to 2015, Bier drafted immigration legislation as a senior policy adviser for Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), then a member and later the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Charles C.W. Cooke Charles C.W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the former editor of National Review Online. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he studied modern history and politics. His work has focused especially on Anglo-American history, British liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment, and American exceptionalism. He is a founding contributor to The Editors podcast, the host of The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, and a regular guest on The Megyn Kelly Show. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New York Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Daniel Di Martino Daniel Di Martino is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where his research focuses on immigration, selection, assimilation, and highly skilled immigration. Di Martino has appeared on Fox News and CNN, and written for USA Today, National Review, City Journal, and the New York Post, among others. He is a regular speaker on college campuses and at events across the country. He sits on the board of advisors of Young America's Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise, and is a member of the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In addition to his economic research and media appearances, Di Martino founded the Dissident Project to teach high school students about socialist regimes. Di Martino was born and raised in Venezuela and arrived in the U.S. in 2016 committed to explaining how socialism destroyed his homeland. He earned his PhD in Economics from Columbia University.