Migrants, Refugees, or Citizens? Borders and Communities in an Anxious Age

People move, and governments react. Do these government decisions make sense? This question prompts even bigger ones, and not just about migration. The reasons for migration are part of a thick web of issues; understanding this broader framework is essential for finding effective responses. Four questions are especially important.

Two questions ask about perspectives on migration that are so influential that they are often taken for granted. One is to think about migration as a matter of the rights of migrants and those who want them to come or stay. Also highly influential is a commitment to the protection of refugees. But does migration involve civil rights, human rights, or rights at all? And how have growing numbers of migrants seeking refugee protection complicated thinking about migration as a matter of rights?

Two other questions reach more broadly. How is migration related to citizenship, and does this link depend on other links among migration, international trade, and economic development? The fourth question asks: does migration undermine citizens’ economic security—or trigger deeper anxieties—in ways that require revisiting the first question about rights?

This book explores migration policy from these four essential angles.