Immigration And The Constraints Of Justice

This book explores the constraints which justice imposes on immigration policy. Like liberal nationalists, Ryan Pevnick argues that citizens have special claims to the institutions of their states. However, the source of these special claims is located in the citizenry's ownership of state institutions rather than in a shared national identity. Citizens contribute to the construction and maintenance of institutions (by paying taxes and obeying the law), and as a result they have special claims to these institutions and a limited right to exclude outsiders. Pevnick shows that the resulting view justifies a set of policies - including support for certain types of guest worker programs - which is distinct from those supported by either liberal nationalists or advocates of open borders. His book provides a framework for considering a number of connected topics including issues related to self-determination, the scope of distributive justice and the significance of shared national identity.

When is it justifiable to exclude a person who wishes to enter a country? What are the acceptable moral bases for immigration policy? These questions lie at the heart of this book, the first interdisciplinary study of the fundamental normative issues underpinning immigration policy. A distinguished group of economists, political scientists, and philosophers offer a provocative discussion of this complex topic. Among the issues addressed are the proper role of the state in supporting a particular culture, the possible destabilization of the political and social life of a country through immigration, the size and distribution of economic losses and gains, and the legitimacy of discriminating against potential immigrants in favor of members of the resident population. The need for serious consideration of this subject is beyond question. This volume should advance discussion in an area of great practical as well as philosophical importance.

This book provides a new and powerful account of the demands of justice on immigration law and policy. Drawing principally on the work of Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, and John Rawls, it argues that justice requires states to give priority of admission to the most disadvantaged migrants, and to grant some form of citizenship or non-oppressive status to those migrants who become integrated. It also argues that states must avoid policies of admission and exclusion that can only be implemented through unjust means. It therefore refutes the common misconception that justice places no limits on the discretion of states to control immigration.

"Public political debate about migration has become increasingly important and increasingly heated; substantive engagement with the morality of migration, however, is more uncommon. This book defends a moderate account of the right to exclude, on which the state may exclude some unwanted would-be migrants-but on which there are significant constraints on how and when that right can be exercised. The book grounds this in a particular vision of how exclusion might be justified, on which states are possessed of a presumptive right to avoid unwanted forms of political relationship. This account of the right to exclude is then applied in more specific questions of justice in migration, such as the permissibility of travel bans and carrier sanctions. The book also offers a particular vision about how to go beyond questions of right and liberal justice, toward a declaration of the sort of community we wish to be. The book identifies the moral notion of mercy as a central one for the moral analysis of migration; we ought to show mercy and justice in the construction of migration policy, and each of these moral norms has a role to play in public discourse"--

What does it really mean to be "undocumented," particularly in the contemporary United States? Political philosophers, immigration policy makers, and others have tended to define the term "undocumented migrant" legalistically-that is, in terms of lacking legal authorization to live and work in one's current country of residence. In Socially Undocumented, Reed-Sandoval challenges this "legalistic understanding" by arguing that being socially undocumented is to possess a real, visible, and embodied social identity that does not always track one's legal status. She further argues that achieving immigration justice in the U.S. (and elsewhere) requires a philosophical understanding of the racialized, class-based, and gendered components of socially undocumented identity and oppression. Socially Undocumented offers a new vision of immigration justice by integrating a descriptive and phenomenological account of socially undocumented identity with a normative and political account of how the oppression with which it is associated ought to be dealt with as a matter of social justice. It also addresses concrete ethical challenges such as the question of whether open borders are morally required, the militarization of the Mexico-U.S. border, the perilous journey that many migrants undertake to get to the United States, the difficult experiences of the women who cross U.S. borders seeking prenatal care while pregnant, and more.

'Immigration and Democracy' develops an intermediate ethical position on immigration between closed borders and open borders. It argues that states have the right to control borders, but this right is qualified by an obligation to assist those outside their borders.

The first book-length examination of immigrant admissions from a feminist philosophical perspective. Higgins argues that a different set of immigration policies will be just for each country and concludes with concrete recommendations for policymaking.

David Miller explores what justice means for real people and challenges philosophical theories that ignore the facts of human life.