Immigration Control in an Era of Globalization: Deflecting Foreigners, Weakening Citizens, and Strengthening the State

Abstract

In stark contrast to the field of legislation on the rights of third-country nationals or to the requirements and conditions for access to the territory of states, the field of the enforcement of immigration control has been increasingly subject to legal harmonization: either by the adoption of global law on immigration control or by the convergence of domestic law and policy in the field. This convergence is particularly marked when one compares legal responses to immigration control in the United States and the European Union, where globalization has been used to justify the extension of state power—by proclaiming state action necessary in order to address perceived global security threats—and the use of key features of globalization that may facilitate free movement— such as the use of technology—in order to enhance immigration control. Globalization has led to the strengthening, rather than the weakening, of the state. This strengthening of the state has significant consequences not only for immigration but also for citizenship as expressed by both relations between individuals and between citizens and the state. By examining the global and transatlantic policy and legislative consensus on immigration control, this Article will cast light on the challenges the extension of state power that globalized immigration control entails for fundamental rights and the rule of law.