Immigration Enforcement and Domination An Indirect Argument for Much More Open Borders

Authors

Alexander Sager, Portland State UniversityFollow

Published In

Political Research Quarterly

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Normative reflection on the ethics of migration has tended to remain at the level of abstract principle with limited attention to the practice of immigration administration and enforcement. This paper explores the implications of this practice for an ethics of immigration with particular attention to the problem of bureaucratic domination. I contend that migration administration and enforcement cannot overcome bureaucratic domination because of the inherent vulnerability of migrant populations and the transnational enforcement of border controls by multiple public and private actors. The implication is that even if restrictive immigration policies are permissible in principle, the attempt to enforce them leads to injustices that make them ethically unacceptable in practice.

Description

Copyright (2017) Sage

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912916680036

DOI

10.1177/1065912916680036

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25365

Citation Details

Sager, A. (2017). Immigration Enforcement and Domination: An Indirect Argument for Much More Open Borders. Political Research Quarterly, 70(1), 42-54.