Labor is easier to move than capital?

I think it’s the opposite today. You don’t have to physically move capital 

Capital needs to precede labor 

Egg 🥚 vs chicken 🐓 

Bell_curve

culture

What is an optimal immigration policy?

> wouldn’t most of the labor during the late 1800s have been moving to the US and just staying?
> 

In general yes, because the US wanted settlers out west - we offered land,work +political freedom (and sometimes straight payments to come over).  

When it comes to our border with Mexico at the time - we end up having the Mexican American War it's just after that we setup the [Immigration Act of 1891](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1891)

we( being the US government) didn't track or care about the concept of immigration too much until non-white people tried to stay as well. And we also had the Mexican American War. 

>i also think there is a societal cost to continually uprooting people, where they’re not just moving once but are constantly moving to the flow of new jobs in perpetuity.

absolutely - but historically, labor has been easier to move than capital. 

and if you think about it, constantly uprooting and moving to somewhere new in search of better is a pretty American thing to do.