Immigration, Association, and Antidiscrimination

Christopher Heath Wellman has argued that freedom of association gives legitimate states a right to close their borders to even the most needy foreigners. I believe Wellman is wrong about freedom of association and thus is wrong about immigration. I use the history of antidiscrimination law to argue that freedom of association is not a simple trump right but is part of a complex package of rights-a package whose contents are in tension and whose use requires moral judgment. This means, I argue, that a proper respect for freedom of association need not entail Wellman's stark conclusion.