June 18, 1999
Jacob G. Hornberger, one of the nation's leading
advocates of open immigration, has announced that he may seek
the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in 2000 and has
formed the Hornberger for President Exploratory Committee.
Hornberger, 49, is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation a libertarian think tank in Fairfax, Virginia.
With 30,000 members, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States. Its presidential candidates are on the ballot in all 50 states.
Hornberger said his campaign would stress economic liberty, free market, and voluntary charity and would reach out to the poor and immigrants —two constituencies that have suffered the most from the paternalistic policies of the Democrat and Republican parties.
Hornberger, whose father was of German descent and mother of Mexican descent, is the leading Libertarian advocate for open border. "Democrats and Republicans tell us how much they love the poor and how compassionate they are. Yet for decades they've incarcerated good and honorable people from the Republic of Mexico and elsewhere who have crossed the border simply in search of work. Why shouldn't people be free to cross borders to sustain or improve their lives through labor? Having grown up on the Texas-Mexico border, I've fought against this tyranny for 20 years and will fight against it if I run for president".
Hornberger added, "The poor have paid the biggest price for the war on drugs, occupational licensure and economic regulations, the IRS and federal income taxation, trade restrictions, and immigration controls. My campaign would call for the repeal, not the reform, of these government programs."
Moral principals would play a key role in his campaign, Hornberger said. "We must recommit ourselves to the principles that made our nation great —free markets, self-reliance, and voluntary charity. Why shouldn't people be free to live their lives the way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful? Under what moral authority does government take money from some to give to others? How can the IRS make people more virtuous? We must repeal, not reform, such socialistic government programs as Social Security, Medicare, welfare, subsidies, and public schooling, which have undermined our belief in ourselves and the free market."
The current war in the Balkans is another reason to vote Libertarian, he said. "The United States has no more business in Yugoslavia than it had in Vietnam. Like other U.S. military interventions —supported by both Democrats and Republicans— this one has only made the situation worse, especially for the Kosovar refugees. The United States has no business being the world's policeman."
Hornberger's essays have appeared in both the English and Spanish press. He has given speeches on libertarianism —in English and Spanish— in the United States, Latin America, Canada, England, and Eastern Europe. Recently he conducted a seminar on the U.S. Constitution in Brazil, helped launch a new free-market think tank in Argentina, and traveled to Cuba to conduct a study of Cuba's socialist economic system and the effects of the U.S. trade embargo.
Hornberger was born and raised in the Texas border town of Laredo. He is a 1972 graduate of Virginia Military Institute and a 1975 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. From 1975-1983, he was a member of the Laredo law firm of Hornberger and Hornberger. He also served on the board of trustees for the Laredo Legal Aid Society and was the local representative for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In 1983, he moved his law practice to Dallas, where he also served as adjunct professor of law and economics at the University of Dallas.
Hornberger's exploratory committee includes Mike Rodrigues (California); Jackie Bradbury (Missouri); John Brown (West Virginia); LeRoy Lloyd (Ohio); Marc Beauchamp (Washington, D.C.); Ken Sturzenacker (Pennsylvania); and Elizabeth Macron (New Jersey).
They may be reached at 344 Maple Ave West Suite 267, Vienna, VA 22180. Hornberger2000@erols.com. (703) 934-6123.
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