Some historical context of the "left case for border controls". From the v beginning here, it's never not been about racism, nationalism, fear of "foreign sexuality", social imperialism, eugenics & the wholesale integration of labourism into the functioning of the British state. 
first immigration controls in Britain were the 1905 Aliens Act against Jewish immigration. There was cross class agitation for controls but legislation wouldn't have been passed without the 20yr campaign by the organised working class demanding border violence against w/c Jews.
Heroes of the British labour movement like Ben Tillett and Tom Mann, other members of the ILP, Fabians and SDF were virulent antisemites, many on the left worked with the proto fascist British Brothers League to agitate for controls.
As well as the eugenic and economic arguments about diseased inferior Jews coming to undercut wages, some English socialists also, of course, mobilised conspiracy theories about Jewish control.
People working within Labour need to reckon with the history of the tradition you're working within. Immigration control has worked hand-in-hand with the entire history of welfare provision. It's never been universal, it's never not been racist.
Border violence has been consistently supported by the TUC since 1892. Every Labour government has not only enforced existing legislation, they were the first government to deny British citizens right to settle in 1968 + New Labour's regime under David 'swamped' Blunkett et al
excerpts quoted above are from a selection of essays by the late great Steve Cohen called 'No One Is Illegal' and the first is from an old @PlutoPress book about the inspirational Sylvia Pankhurst: an example of a principled antiracist in the worker's movement of the early 20thC.
thanx to @Peckhampulse for pointing me to this great Satnam Virdee essay about socialist nationalism & antisemitism in late 19thC England. Morris & E Marx's Socialist League stand out as admirable exceptions to general tide of restrictionism & antisemitism tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
