International Migration Policies

Abstract

International migration is a multi-faceted, global phenomenon that is growing in scope and importance. Well-developed policies are critical for inhibiting, promoting, and/or supporting migration. This chapter lays out a logic for ways to think about migration policy. It starts by looking at some major push and pull factors on a regional level and their impact on migratory trends historically as well as on absolute levels of migration and the nations that both send and receive the most international migrants The chapter provides a demographic rationale for a need for in-migration in many more developed countries and outlines the economic and fiscal considerations that accompany migration. It summarizes macro- and micro-level theoretical perspectives for explaining international migration and migration policy. By showing how global trends in migration policy have moved toward both greater liberalization of entrance and greater restrictions on the rights bestowed upon immigrants, it illuminates the uneasy paradox faced by states in meeting labor needs and placating different constituencies. It discusses the resulting gap between states’ migration policies and their enforcement and offers a typology of state admissions policies. The chapter concludes by examining future challenges in migration policy.