Subnational Migration States and the New Politics of Immigration

Abstract

Using Catherine Dauvergne's The New Politics of Immigration and the End of Settler Society (2016) as a starting point, this article explores subnational policy dynamics in Canada, Australia and the United States. It considers whether the trends associated with legalization, twostep programmes, rapid policy changes and economic discourses are present in Canadian provinces as well as in U.S. and Australian states. It shows that the forces described by Dauvergne contribute to a further rescaling of policymaking and to the emergence of subnational migration states. However, this article also demonstrates that this common movement varies in its consequences and identifies two central subnational policy responses typical of the new politics of immigration: 1) the "economic subnational migration state" (Canada and Australia) and 2) the "access subnational migration state" (United States). The models and the global trends described in this article have implications for immigration policymaking in federations.

Respuestas a la migración venezolana en Bogotá: Un aproximación sub-nacional al fenómeno

“…Así, se incita al público a pedir políticas de gestión migratoria más estrictas que limiten los movimientos fronterizos y combatan la migración irregular (Goodwin- Gill, 2007). En tal sentido, se configura una interacción simbiótica entre la agencia del migrante y su relación con la comunidad receptora (Paquet, 2019;Tatar, 2019). En otras palabras, como señala Everett Lee (1966), la relación entre corrientes y contracorrientes migratorias depende de que "la migración es considerada selectiva y el grado de selectividad depende de un número de factores los cuales a menudo dan como resultado una selección bimodal" (p. 47).…”

“…En particular, hacen énfasis en los factores que impulsan la migración como los ingresos relativos, los choques económicos y la estructura demográfica (Prieto Rosas & López Gay, 2015). Aunque la mayoría de estas aproximaciones adoptan un enfoque Estado-céntrico, en la última década, una serie de investigaciones han propuesto visiones subnacionales al análisis de la migración (Dietz, 2010;Paquet, 2019;Smith, 2017).…”

A New Politics? Symposium on Dauvergne’s The New Politics and the End of Settler Societies

“…Noting that Dauvergne’s (2016) account focuses squarely on national and global policy development, Paquet (2019) documents how the loss of settlement, the primacy of economic discourses and the growing legalization of immigration affect U.S. and Australian states as well as Canadian provinces in an era of increasing immigration rescaling. Paquet shows that in these three countries, the rise of the New Politics has generated new opportunities for subnational involvement in immigration, leading to the emergence of “subnational migration states” that consider “immigration regulation […] as being something that is essential to their governing functions.” (Paquet, 2019: 2). Within this common trend, two policy responses emergence: 1) subnational policies linking regional economic development and immigration and 2) subnational policies focused on providing or limiting access to state‐derived rights and entitlements.…”

“…She concludes that: “In the face of the global hardening of immigration politics […], subnational governments in federations – and not just cities – are venues for different politics and for policy innovation. Their potential, however, can only be further harnessed by taking seriously these subnational actors in international and national policy debates” (Paquet, 2019: 13).…”

“…Comparing Canada, Australia, and the U.S., a fourth article explores how the New Politics unfolds at the subnational level. Noting that Dauvergne’s (2016) account focuses squarely on national and global policy development, Paquet (2019) documents how the loss of settlement, the primacy of economic discourses and the growing legalization of immigration affect U.S. and Australian states as well as Canadian provinces in an era of increasing immigration rescaling. Paquet shows that in these three countries, the rise of the New Politics has generated new opportunities for subnational involvement in immigration, leading to the emergence of “subnational migration states” that consider “immigration regulation […] as being something that is essential to their governing functions.” (Paquet, 2019: 2).…”