American Immigration Politics: An Unending Controversy

Immigration has been a controversial issue throughout American political history from the colonial period to the present. In this article I argue that we must understand how the issue of immigration is framed whether in terms of economics (markets), rights, security or culture, and we must be attentive always to place the controversy in historical context. In the period since 1945 until the 2001 terrorist attacks, immigration policy was driven by a rights-markets dynamic. But in the first decades of the 21st century the immigration debate is framed primarily in terms of culture (religion and race) as well as national security. This framing has heightened the “liberal paradox” making immigration policy reform more difficult.L’immigration a toujours été un sujet à controverse dans l’histoire politique américaine, depuis l’époque coloniale jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Dans cet article, l’auteur démontre comment cette question de l’immigration est tantôt construite en fonction de l’économie, tantôt des droits, de la sécurité ou de la culture et qu’il est nécessaire de replacer cette analyse dans un contexte historique précis. Durant la période qui va de 1945 aux attaques terroristes de 2001, la politique d’immigration a été définie en fonction du jeu entre droit et économie. Mais depuis le début du XXIe siècle, les termes du débat sur l’immigration aux États-Unis se concentrent autour d’une rhétorique relative à la culture (race et religion) et à la sécurité nationale. Ce cadre de pensée conduit à intensifier le « paradoxe libéral » compliquant ainsi toute réforme de la politique d’immigration.La inmigración siempre ha sido un tema controvertido en la historia política estadounidense, desde la época colonial hasta la actualidad. En este artículo, el autor muestra como el tema de la inmigración se construye en algunas ocasiones en función de la economía, y en otras de los derechos, de la seguridad o de la cultura; y como es necesario poner este análisis en su contexto histórico exacto. En el período de 1945 a los ataques terroristas de 2001, la política de inmigración se ha definido en función de la interacción entre el derecho y la economía. Sin embargo, desde el principio del siglo XXI, los términos del debate sobre la inmigración en los Estados Unidos se concentran alrededor de una retórica sobre la cultura (raza y religión) y sobre la seguridad nacional. Este marco de pensamiento conduce a intensificar la «paradoja liberal» que complica cualquier reforma de la política de inmigración

Migration, trade, and development: an overview

Simple, neoclassical economic models predict that prices should drive factors such as labor and capital across regions and countries toward their most valuable use. As this happens, developing countries, which are typically labor-rich and capital-scarce, should experience more rapid growth, higher income, and eventually convergence to industrial world levels of well-being. This process is happening slowly in some cases, but in other cases not at all. Do migration and trade speed this convergence? If so, how? If not, why?Emigration and immigration ; International trade ; Economic development ; Developing countries

Immigrants, Markets, and Rights: The United States As an Emerging Migration State

In the pages that follow, we will develop the concept of the migration state and examine U.S. immigration trends from the late nineteenth century up to 2003 in light of labor market dynamics and the business cycle. We then look at the emergence of the United States as a migration state and the rise of rights-based politics and rights-markets coalitions in the period from 1945 to 1990. These coalitions in the U.S. Congress are key to understanding immigration policy outputs and outcomes. The argument can be generalized to cover other liberal democracies in Western Europe, Canada, and Australia