On the Rights of Temporary Migrants

Abstract

Temporary workers stand to gain from temporary migration programs, which can also benefit sender and recipient states. Some critics of temporary migration programs, however, argue that failing to extend citizenship rights or a secure pathway to permanent residency to such migrants places them in an unacceptable position of subordination with respect to other members of society. We argue that access to permanent residency and citizenship rights should not be regarded as a condition for the moral permissibility of such programs. Instead, we focus on the essential protections that must be extended to all migrant workers, irrespective of the length of their migration project.