Immigration and Politics

In: Annual review of political science, Band 8, S. 99-119

Abstract

With nearly one in ten residents of advanced industrialized states now an immigrant, international migration has become a fundamental driver of social, economic, & political change. We review alternative models of migratory behavior (which emphasize structural factors largely beyond states' control) as well as models of immigration policy making that seek to explain the gaps between stated policy & actual outcomes. Some scholars attempt to explain the limited efficacy of control policies by focusing on domestic interest groups, political institutions, & the interaction among them; others approach the issue from an international or "intermestic" perspective. Despite the modest effects of control measures on unauthorized flows of economic migrants & asylum seekers, governments continue to determine the proportion of migrants who enjoy legal status, the specific membership rights associated with different legal (& undocumented) migrant classes, & how policies are implemented. These choices have important implications for how the costs & benefits of migration are distributed among different groups of migrants, native-born workers, employers, consumers, & taxpayers. 142 References. Adapted from the source document.