Tariff policy frustrates the national conservative policy of immigration control. How much illegal immigration can you attribute to trade restrictions? That is an open question, but the number is undoubtedly non-zero. National conservatives must reevaluate their priorities. Do they care more about dolling out protectionist privileges to their favored industries or do they care about restricting immigration?
If they care more about the latter, then they should abandon trade restrictions. Adopting free trade policies would help accomplish their goal of decreasing illegal immigration and would align them further with free market conservatives. The quote often attributed to Frederic Bastiat that “when goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will,” has an interesting parallel here. When capital cannot cross borders, then labor will. The sooner that we all recognize this, the sooner that free trade can be adopted by contemporary conservatives and the severity of immigration pressure can be lessened.
Arguing against tariffs on the grounds that they encourage illegal immigration and by calling attention to the fact that the policies of free trade and free immigration are not necessarily connected are two indispensable steps in bringing about unity among the political right wing. We must recognize our common ground. Free marketers should lean into this argument more when engaging with national conservatives.
It seems everything in life comes in varieties in which you have to make choices. Those choices seem to always be an either-or choice. You know, like having your cake and eating it, too. It just cannot be done and there is no way to round that square. Here the choice seems to be between more protection for favored industries or less immigration. You get to make your choice and take the consequences because there is no way to avoid the consequences of your choices. Trying to take both is a waste of resources, IMHO. If it were my choice I would say let the people stay in their homes and have free-trade in a free-market environment.