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

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  • Diego Acosta Arcarazo
  • Luisa Feline Freier

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="imre12146-abs-0001"> 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Diego Acosta Arcarazo & Luisa Feline Freier, 2015. "Turning the Immigration Policy Paradox Upside Down? Populist Liberalism and Discursive Gaps in South America," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 659-696, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:intmig:v:49:y:2015:i:3:p:659-696
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/imre.2015.49.issue-3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Igor José de Renó Machado & Iana dos Santos Vasconcelos, 2022. "Military Reception and Venezuelan Migrants in Brazilian far North: New Policies of Securitisation and Hybrid Refugee Camps," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1217-1234, September.
    2. Binhan Elif, Yilmaz, 2016. "International Migration Trends and Policy Effects," MPRA Paper 106103, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    3. Zakiyyah, Varachia, 2020. "Understanding the Economic, Social, and Political Trends of International Migration," MPRA Paper 106460, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    4. Hein de Haas & Mathias Czaika & Marie‐Laurence Flahaux & Edo Mahendra & Katharina Natter & Simona Vezzoli & María Villares‐Varela, 2019. "International Migration: Trends, Determinants, and Policy Effects," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(4), pages 885-922, December.
    5. Antonella, Barbarito, 2019. "Trends of International Migration since Post-World War II," MPRA Paper 106133, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2019.
    6. Michael, Owiso, 2018. "International Migration since Post-World War II: Trends and Determinants," MPRA Paper 106280, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    7. Adamson, Fiona, 2019. "The Migration State in the Global South: Nationalizing, Developmental, and Neoliberal Models of Migration Management," SocArXiv wze2p, Center for Open Science.
    8. David, Blight, 2020. "Trends of International Migration since Post-World War II," MPRA Paper 106307, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    9. Les, Christidis, 2018. "Effectiveness and Trends of International Migration since Post-World War II," MPRA Paper 106282, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    10. Akasaka, Shintaro, 2020. "Effectiveness of International Migration since Early Stage," MPRA Paper 106358, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    11. Bożena, Chrząstowska, 2018. "The Effectiveness of Migration Policies," MPRA Paper 106128, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    12. Elena Vitalievna, Lebedeva, 2017. "Determinants, Trends and Policy Effects of International Migration," MPRA Paper 106117, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    13. Behnaz, Flippo, 2016. "Determinants and Trends of International Migration: Understanding and Evidences," MPRA Paper 106134, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.

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