See also moderate versus radical open borders and moral versus practical arguments

Gradual open borders has been suggested as a way of alleviating concerns about swamping that might accompany the sudden introduction of open borders. There is debate about the relative value of introducing gradual open borders, and just how fast borders can feasibly be opened.

Relevant posts:

• If Open Borders Are Instituted Gradually, What Should Be The Initial Number of Immigrants Admitted? by Joel Newman, August 9, 2013, Open Borders: The Case.
• Slippery slopes to open borders by Vipul Naik, February 11, 2014, Open Borders: The Case.

The Atlantic article If People Could Immigrate Anywhere, Would Poverty Be Eliminated? Some economists are pushing for “open borders” by Shaun Raviv quotes Bryan Caplan addressing the argument for gradualism:

“But it’s very easy for you to say that when you’re in the first world living a comfortable life,” he told me. “If you are living in abject poverty in Haiti, on the other hand, this go-slow attitude seems rather callous.”