Conversations with Peter Boghossian Open Borders vs Western Survival | Jan Vandebeek
Mar 10, 2026
Jan Vandebeek, Dutch researcher and data scientist who studies immigration and demographics, presents hard data on mass migration's effects in Europe. He discusses border policies and nonviolent deterrence, integration predictors like education and cultural distance, demographic projections and political risks, and alternatives to mass immigration such as automation and pro-natal policies.
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End Asylum Outside Geographic Europe
- Stop asylum for people outside geographic Europe to remove the asylum channel that enables large-scale irregular migration.
- Jan Vandebeek cites Spain's 2006 deal flying back migrants to Mauritania and Senegal, which cut Canary Islands arrivals from ~30,000 to ~200 annually.
Spain Deal Stopped Canary Islands Boats
- Spain's 2006 agreement with Mauritania and Senegal to repatriate boat migrants quickly dramatically deterred crossings.
- Vandebeek says arrivals collapsed from ~30,000 to ~200 per year once people realized they would be flown back the next day.
Education And Cultural Distance Predict Integration
- Integration outcomes strongly correlate with migrants' scholastic aptitude and cultural distance from the host country.
- Vandebeek reports Somali and Eritrean groups combine low education/test scores with high cultural distance, producing poor labor outcomes and high welfare dependency.
