Complex frontiers: social protection and immigration. Universal child allowance for social protection and immigration in Argentina

Abstract

The problems associated with the limitations and obstacles for immigration to integrate to what has been called the receiving countries, are anchored in boundaries that surpass those established by geographical and political within the countries. One of the fundamental niche, of the anchors mentioned, is the resistance of reception countries for the full respect and implementation of the Covenants and Human Rights Treaties associated with social protection of population movements. In the particular case of this article, we propose to make evident borders representing the Argentine family allowance scheme, through the analysis of the Universal Child Allowance for Social Protection implemented in 2009. This policy becomes nodal for the analysis, since on the one hand, proclaims a speech associated to the Rights Approach which holds and reaffirms universality; yet on the other hand, makes explicit a number of exclusions that challenge its supposed universality. One such limitation is the exclusion of the AUH for all foreign children or adolescents who have less than three years of residence in the country, placing restriction both on the under 18 -assumed AUH holders- as on their parents and/or guardians.