Diego Acosta Arcarazo

Turning the Immigration Policy Paradox Upside Down? Populist Liberalism and Discursive Gaps in South America†

A paradox of officially rejecting but covertly accepting irregular migrants has long been identified in the immigration policies of Western immigrant receiving states. In South America, on the other hand, a liberal discourse of universally welcoming all immigrants, irrespective of their origin and migratory status, has replaced the formally restrictive, securitized and not seldomly ethnically selective immigration rhetoric. This discursive liberalization has found partial translation into immigration laws and policies, but contrary to the universality of rights claimed in their discourses, governments reject recently increasing irregular south–south migration from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean to varying degrees. This paper applies a mixed methodological approach of discourse and legal analysis and process tracing to explore in how far recent immigration policies in South America constitute a liberal turn, or rather a reverse immigration policy paradox of officially welcoming but covertly rejecting irregular migrants. Based on the comparative analysis of Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador, the study identifies and explains South American “populist liberalism” in the sphere of migration. We highlight important implications for migration theory, thereby opening up new avenues of research on immigration policy making outside Western liberal democracies, and particularly in predominantly migrant sending countries.

Transnational Diffusion or Different Models? Regional Approaches to Migration Governance in the European Union and Mercosur

AbstractThis article compares the regional governance of migration in Europe and South America to show significant variation in approaches. Regional migration governance can transcend the historical and political embeddedness of member state approaches to migration while also providing a context within which the meaning of neo-liberalism is constructed and contested. On this basis, eu and Mercosur provide new settings within which responses to migration are re-thought and within which new approaches have developed, but we find little evidence of the transnational diffusion of policy instruments between the two regions. Indeed, in South America, the regional governance of migration has in part developed in conscious contrast to the eu’s approach.

The Long-Term Residence Status as a Subsidiary Form of EU Citizenship: An Analysis of Directive 2003/109

This book analyses the potential of the Long-term Residence Directive to become a subsidiary form of EU citizenship which escapes direct control by Member States, by looking at its implementation and at its possible interpretation by the Court of Justice.

EU Immigration and Asylum Law (Text and Commentary): Second Revised Edition

Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304

Open Borders in the Nineteenth Century: Constructing the National, the Citizen and the Foreigner in South America

This working paper describes and explains the historical origins of the division between the national and the foreigner in South America. In the early nineteenth century, all the previously Spanish possessions in South America as well as Brazil achieved independence. With this new freedom, countries turned their attention to asserting their statehood through the delineation of three constitutive elements: government, territory and population. The new governments had to define who were going to be considered as nationals, citizens and foreigners, and the rights that pertained to each of these categories. These countries were all concerned with attracting new settlers and very early on introduced constitutional provisions on open borders and equal treatment for foreigners. White, male Europeans were the principal addresses of open borders provisions in an effort to entice them to settle in territories presented as empty to the exclusion of indigenous groups, bring new industries, and contribute to the whitening of mixed race populations. Whilst weak statehood came with independence, forming nations was a much longer process and States used migration and citizenship policies as tools to define nationhood.

DISCURSOS Y POLÍTICAS DE INMIGRACIÓN EN SUDAMÉRICA: ¿HACÍA UN NUEVO PARADIGMA O LA CONFIRMACIÓN DE UNA RETÓRICA SIN CONTENIDO?

During the last fifteen years, the governmental discourse on immigration from most countries in South America has become more liberal and with a clear emphasis on migrant rights and on the promotion of auniversal human mobility. The present work questions if this liberal political discourse on South American immigration is simply a paradox in which all immigrants are officially welcome, but, at the same time, certain nationalities or categories are rejected, or if, on the contrary, there has actually been a liberal shift in the policies and legislations on immigration in the region, with important comparative consequences and that can serve as an example to other regions of the world.

Long-Term Residents’ Integration in Spain at a Crossroads: Rights-Based Approach or Downhill Towards Restrictiveness?

This chapter looks at the relationship between the law and integration of third-country nationals, paying special attention to long-term residence status. It assesses the extent to which Spain is being influenced by new ideas on that relationship deriving from European Union (EU) policies and debates and, most notably, from new practices in some Member States such as France and the Netherlands. Indeed, these and other Member States have, in the last few years, imposed new legal obligations on third-country nationals to prove integration before accessing rights, such as family reunification or the acquisition of long-term residence. It may be argued, with caution, that Spain has pursued a rights-based approach in its treatment of third-country nationals in the last decade. ‘This approach is based on the assumption that universal and equal fundamental rights should apply to all individuals within the boundaries of the Community, irrespective of their country of origin’. In line with this argument, this chapter analyses policy and legislative developments, adopted or discussed mostly during 2011, to see whether Spain is changing its previous approach to the role that law may play in the integration of third-country nationals.

Intra-Corporate Transferees

Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304

The Returns Directive

Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304

Social Security Coordination

Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304