Turning the Immigration Policy Paradox Up-side Down? Populist Liberalism and Discursive Gaps in South America

Diego Acosta Arcarazo, Luisa Feline Freier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

69 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A paradox of officially rejecting but covertly accepting irregular migrants
has long been identified in the policies of Western receiving states. In
South America, however, a liberal discourse of universally welcoming all
immigrants has replaced the formally restrictive immigration rhetoric. This
discursive liberalization has found partial translation into immigration laws
and policies, but governments reject increasing irregular south-south
migration. This paper explores in how far immigration policies in South
America constitute a liberal turn, or rather a reverse immigration policy
paradox of officially welcoming but covertly rejecting irregular migrants,
and identifies South American ‘populist liberalism’ in the sphere of
migration.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)659-696
JournalInternational Migration Review
Volume49
Issue number3
Early online date8 May 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sep 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Turning the Immigration Policy Paradox Up-side Down? Populist Liberalism and Discursive Gaps in South America'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this