Abstract

AbstractThere are more refugees than many states have a duty to accept. As a result, many states are permitted to accept only some refugees and not others. This raises the question of how states should select these refugees. I defend the claim that states should resettle the worst‐off refugees, and maximize the number of refugees gaining a sufficiently decent life. When resettling the worst off conflicts with maximising the number gaining a sufficiently decent life, states should select refugees to maximise aggregate benefits, with benefits holding greater weight the further refugees are from a sufficiency threshold. The only exception to this rule is when it entails wrongful discrimination, in which case states should only follow this rule if victims of discrimination benefit and consent to its implementation.

Highlights

  • States are sometimes permitted to grant asylum to some refugees and not others

  • When resettling the worst off conflicts with maximising the number gaining a sufficiently decent life, states should select refugees to maximise aggregate benefits, with benefits holding greater weight the further refugees are from a sufficiency threshold

  • The only exception to this rule is when it entails wrongful discrimination, in which case states should only follow this rule if victims of discrimination benefit and consent to its implementation

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Summary

Introduction

States are sometimes permitted to grant asylum to some refugees and not others. Section 2 defends this claim. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Jordan discriminate against single men of Middle Eastern descent in determining who is resettled or granted asylum, claiming Middle Eastern men are more of a security risk, and so providing them security clearance is more costly.[27] Given the costs, states can potentially grant asylum to more individuals with their budgets if they discriminate against these men, increasing the number of refugees obtaining a sufficiently decent life, and possibly helping more of the worst-off refugees obtain asylum These states engage in wrongful direct statistical discrimination if Middle Eastern men are already disadvantaged compared to men of other backgrounds, and if such selection procedures are demeaning; it can be demeaning to be denied safety because of one’s ethnic background.[28]. We might think that sometimes the benefits of helping the worst-off justify the wrongness of discrimination.This is a possibility I shall consider

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