Family Reunification Policies Research Articles

Opportunities for the integration of muslim immigrants in European Union countries

The presence of Muslim immigrants in European Union countries has become an undeniable reality, as these immigrants have become an integral part of the demographic composition of EU societies. The strength of these immigrant communities has increased as a result of the intensification of family reunification policies, which have contributed to reshaping and expanding minorities within the European space. Consequently, questions, concerns, and doubts have arisen about the integration of these immigrants into most national communities. These apprehensions are primarily based on the legal mechanisms required to integrate these minorities into the nation-state, which is founded on citizenship rights in Europe, and on the practical measures that guarantee their integration in an appropriate form and content. On this basis, the adopted integration policies that attempt to reposition Muslims in Europe at the economic, social, and, to some extent, cultural levels raise many concerns about their ability to integrate these Muslim immigrants and about the possible opportunities for their proper integration in light of their cultural, religious, and social specificities. Through this paper, researchers attempt to examine the opportunities for these Muslim immigrants to integrate, considering the legal complexities and social problems they face, which hinder their complete integration into these societies.

Politics for Exclusion and Strategies for Inclusion: A Scoping Review of Nordic Family Reunification Policies, Practices, and Impact on Refugees

Politics for Exclusion and Strategies for Inclusion: A Scoping Review of Nordic Family Reunification Policies, Practices, and Impact on Refugees

‘When Mom left for Mars’: Life narratives of first-generation Moroccan migrant mothers in Flanders

Current discourses in Belgian politics about Moroccan Muslim women are deeply rooted in the first-generation family reunification policies of the 1960s. Today, (marriage) migrant women are still commonly described as victims of their ‘backward’ religious traditions and in need of protection for the sake of themselves, their children and society. Looking at the implications of these views for the women concerned, this article discusses the unique docufilm ‘When Mom Left for Mars’, which documents the life narrative of a first-generation Moroccan woman in The Netherlands. Based on this docufilm, we aim to (1) document how Belgian and Dutch first-generation migrant women can be compared with each other using Karl Mannheim’s ‘theory of generations’ and (2) engage in an intergenerational conversation with first-generation mothers and their daughters, as well as with mid-generation mothers, to gain more insight into their similarities, heritage and differences. More specifically, we explore the agency of these mothers using the analytical lens of ‘affective citizenship’, particularly attending to how they centralise mothering and care work to negotiate gender and belonging, and counter the challenges of marriage migration, motherhood and integration. The docufilm is, thus, used as a case study from which we consider the first-generation women as ‘cultural archives’, and as a methodological tool in facilitating in-depth interviews and group discussions.

Coordinating settlement (im)mobilities: exploring secondary migration patterns and settlement geographies among refugee-humanitarian migrants in regional Australia

ABSTRACT International migrants play an important role in addressing the social and economic challenges associated with population ageing and fertility decline that are keenly felt in regional Australia. In a policy arena where the attraction and retention of migrants remains a challenge, large numbers of refugee-humanitarian migrants have, without any direct government policy intervention, independently gravitated towards unplanned regional settlement locations. However, these secondary migration patterns, often regarded as ‘organic’ or informal, are not well understood. We present new insights into their mobility in regional Australia using secondary datasets and primary research. Using Institutional Ethnographic methods, we highlight how their movements are not as ‘organic’ as imagined. Simultaneously, through the 'new mobilities' paradigm, we highlight the link between international and internal migration of refugee-humanitarian migrants. We tease out the relational element by drawing attention to how immobility of family members, structured by immigration policies that delay and deny family reunification, is intertwined with secondary migration patterns in Australia. As regional communities embrace the benefits of the secondary migration of refugee-humanitarian migrants, we show that these benefits are perversely supported by punitive family reunification policies that can have implications for the successful integration of refugee-humanitarian migrants.

Impact of changes to the New Zealand family category policy on immigrants

Immigration New Zealand’s policy on family reunification has impacted new arrivals coming into Aotearoa New Zealand from different countries. Close family members of migrants have now been forced to leave their family members behind and live in different countries. This also shows that Immigration New Zealand’s family reunification policy is not in line with the international guidelines and laws of family reunification practices. This paper examines new empirical evidence for the impact of family reunification and integration on migrant health and wellbeing, and discusses potential harm that can be caused to migrants living in Aotearoa New Zealand. It also provides the groundwork for a future study. Reunification outcomes are considered for both partners and children of new migrants. The paper concludes by addressing the implications for migrants as a result of the current Immigration New Zealand policies regulating family reunification.

Mothers Inside and Out? Pseudo-Families and Motherhood in a Women’s Prison

The pseudo-family is a longstanding carceral concept, but its existence and characteristics are uncertain in contemporary women’s prisons. This study explores pseudo-family membership and pseudo-motherhood among 132 women incarcerated in a maximum-security prison. Self-reported data reveal that the pseudo-family remains an active concept in the sampled prison, with over half of the surveyed women reporting prison family membership. Pseudo-mothers are perceived as maternal, supportive, and wise by their pseudo-children. Multivariate OLS and logistic regressions suggest that pseudo-mothers had similar relationship quality with, and visitation from, their biological children, compared to other imprisoned mothers. These findings contribute to our understanding of women’s adaptations to incarceration and have implications for family reunification policies.

Minimum standards and essential needs in the protection of Syrian refugees in Turkey

UNHCR Executive Committee resolutions had recognized the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in mass influx and many bilateral international conventions, treaties, and agreements. The following rights have also emerged within UNHCR Executive Committee decisions, international human rights law, and international law. The significant central rights and the principle of law towards refugee and asylum seekers which are considered as the minimum standards are: 1) non-refoulement principles, 2) right to life, 3) right to protection from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, 4) provision of an individual legal status, 5) right to asylum, 6) prohibition of discrimination, 7) right to liberty and security of person, 8) freedom of residence and movement, 9) family reunification, 10) right to an adequate standard of living, and 11) right to adequate housing. Until September 2020, Turkey had been a host country for 3,621,968 Syrian refugees1 who are located in eighty-one cities. Turkey applies the family reunification policy towards the refugees. However, because of the large number of Syrians, Turkish authorities struggle with providing adequate living and housing standards. Thus, the article will elaborate on the most crucial elements from the humanitarian point of view, that is family reunification, right to an adequate standard of living, and right to acceptable housing standards applied towards the Syrian refugees in Turkey in virtue of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey (1982), Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 of 2013, and Temporary Protection Regulation (2014).

EU or UK Child-Sponsored Family Reunification Policy: Who’s Right? Whose Rights?

Abstract The increase in numbers of children travelling unaccompanied to Europe has provoked a sensitive debate as to how to treat their family members. While EU Member States generally grant family reunification for unaccompanied minors, the UK has opted to permit reunion in only ‘exceptional circumstances’. Widely criticised, the UK government counters that child-sponsored family reunification creates incentives for unaccompanied migration that place children at risk. This article explores both policies from a human rights perspective. It suggests that, as regards children reaching Europe, EU policy is more consistent with human rights norms. However, UK policy raises legitimate questions about obligations towards children beyond Europe’s borders. A rights-based justification for either EU or UK policy can be constructed, but requires recourse to additional principles on the balancing of rights among different groups of children. Clearer articulation and scrutiny of these principles could strengthen the rights rationale for child-sponsored family reunification.

What Do Asylum Seekers Prioritise—Safety or Welfare Benefits? The Influence of Policies on Asylum Flows to the EU15 Countries

Abstract From the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2010, Europe has experienced an increasing inflow of asylum seekers, which later peaked in 2015. While some governments sought national solutions and responded by tightening controls and rights for asylum seekers and refugees, others advocated for European burden sharing and a more humanistic response. This study investigates the extent to which asylum seekers respond to policy changes and prioritise between different policies. Further, than existing studies, we develop a theoretical framework for improving the understanding of what asylum seekers prioritise. Additionally, we also contribute empirically by using recent asylum application data for the EU15 countries (UNHCR data from 2008 to 2015) to disentangle the influence of single policy elements rather than focussing on asylum regimes or composite indexes as has been the case in previous research. Our results indicate that asylum seekers prioritise their short- to medium-term security by choosing destination countries with the most liberal refugee recognition and family reunification policies. In contrast, the level of social assistance accessible to refugees and the easiness of obtaining permanent resident status are unimportant.

Family Strategies in Refugee Journeys to Europe

Abstract This article contributes to the literature on refugee journeys and decision-making by providing an exploratory study of the strategies adopted by refugee families in order to overcome controls on their movement and access to asylum. Refugee family strategies are analysed in the context of dynamic policy changes along the Eastern Mediterranean route, drawing on semi-structured interviews with Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian family members who were on this route between 2015 and 2018. The results demonstrate, first, how refugee families negotiate the physical and financial barriers to their movement—often by separating, which emerges as a key adaptive strategy. Second, concomitant with the decision to separate, family reunification policies become important in shaping—and determining the outcomes—of these asylum-seeking trajectories. Third, the article reflects on the consequences of family separation on the families themselves, particularly in an environment of limited family reunification possibilities.

‘Everything went according to the rules’. Female citizen sponsors’ legal consciousness, intimate citizenship and family migration law

ABSTRACT Academic literature has studied the legal consciousness of common citizens: the way ordinary people think and talk about law in their everyday lives. Building on this literature, we explore how Dutch female citizens with a migrant partner experience the impact of migration law on their everyday lives. We questioned how legal consciousness is linked to intimate citizenship, thus demonstrating how ‘private’ matters such as intimate relationships, marriage, and family have a profound impact on citizenship. Based on two sets of interviews, conducted in 2000 and 2016, we were able to determine how these women, despite being citizens formally, experienced the profound impact of increasingly restrictive family reunification policies. Contrary to our expectations, female sponsors continued to express considerable support for restrictive migration law. In performing intimate citizenship, they claimed an exception from the strict application of the rules for their particular family situation, rather than radical change.

Family separation and refugee mental health–A network perspective

How do the structure and relational features of family networks affect refugees’ mental health after migration, particularly when refugees are geographically separated from their family? Using the first wave of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees, which is representative of the population of refugees who arrived in Germany between 2013 and 2016, this study finds that the size of the nuclear family has a significant positive relationship with refugees’ mental health, whereas family separation has a significant negative relationship. In addition to members of the nuclear family, only fathers show a significant positive correlation with refugees’ mental health. The structural and relational aspects are discussed in light of health literature focusing on migration stressors and their relationship with mental health as well as in the context of changing family reunification policies in Germany amid the increase in immigration of refugees since 2015.

The politics of ‘waiting’ for care: immigration policy and family reunification in Canada

ABSTRACT This paper analyses two dimensions of ‘waiting’ in the realm of family reunification: the policy perspective and the immigrants’ experience. First, in line with the migration management paradigm, the Canadian government has introduced various measures to reduce ‘waiting times’. We discuss changes in the family reunification programme of parents and grandparents implemented since 2011 as emblematic of these measures. Such changes are also situated within global trends that make family reunification policies more restrictive. Second, based on 19 interviews with already established immigrants who are sponsors of a parent, we analyse the experience of ‘waiting for care’. For families attempting to reunite to fill care needs, new measures may speed up reunification, but they may also mean that being together is, for many, more difficult to achieve, temporary, and precarious. We argue that the politics of ‘waiting times’ management has depoliticised the right to family reunification and institutionalised temporariness in this component of immigration policy. These repercussions of state policies significantly alter how immigrant families can provide care to their members and sustain social reproduction.

Tourist brides and migrant grooms: Cuban–Danish couples and family reunification policies

ABSTRACTAs a development strategy mass tourism often precipitates social changes, expected and unexpected. Emigration through marriage may seem to be an unlikely by-product of the expanding tourist industry in Cuba, but the increasing number of Cubans emigrating through marriage to a foreign partner has paralleled the influx of tourists since the mid-1990s. This article explores how gender dynamics in the Cuban tourist milieu intersect with gendered underpinnings of family reunification policies in Denmark by focusing on the marriage migration pattern of Cuban grooms with Nordic brides. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark among Cuban marriage migrants and their spouses, the study shows a cross-border migration pattern shaped by multiple factors including global economic asymmetries, the eroticisation of Cuban culture in the tourism industry, and the gender egalitarian welfare state of Denmark.

Mobile lives, immutable facts: family reunification of children in Finland

ABSTRACTThe right to family has been confirmed by myriad human rights covenants and it forms an acknowledged part of migration policies. Yet family reunification has become an increasingly contested issue, something reflected in a recent restrictive turn in migration policies throughout Europe. Policy reforms speak of a growing polarity between, on the one hand, adherence to the ‘best interest of the child’ and family life, and on the other, suspicion of fraud. This article examines these tensions via exploration of family reunification procedures in Finland, particularly applications sponsored by minors, thereby drawing attention to the notion of ‘the anchor child’. Drawing on decisions by the Administrative Court of Helsinki as well as interviews with experts and the people concerned, the writers discuss how these polarities are managed in practice, centring their analysis on a quest for truth that deploys various methods, particularly DNA analysis and oral hearings. Ultimately the article highlights an intrinsic paradox in family reunification policies that incorporates the aspiration to produce facts amounting to ‘immutable mobiles’ (Latour, Bruno. 1986. ‘Visualization and cognition: Thinking with the eyes and hands.’ Knowledge and Society 6 (6): 1–40.) and the evident weight of contingent temporalities.

South Asian Migration, Settlement, and Sociopolitical Incorporation on the North American West Coast

There are large South Asian settlements in the larger Vancouver region of British Columbia in Canada and in Northern and Central California (from Yuba City to Fresno) in the United States. While the early migration patterns of Sikhs and Hindus to these two areas were similar, they subsequently diverged and the South Asian settlements in the two regions now exhibit very different profiles. This resource paper summarizes and analyzes the literature on factors shaping the migration, settlement, and incorporation patterns of Asian immigrants in these two regions. I argue that the parallels in early South Asian migration patterns to the North American West Coast were due to similarities in the economic and social profile of these regions, Canadian and U.S. policies toward Asian immigrants, and easy movement between Canada and the United States. The divergence between the two regions took place over time largely as an outcome of changes in regional characteristics (e.g., the development of Silicon Valley), differences in the group characteristics and networks of Sikhs and Hindus, and an increasing divergence in Canadian and U.S. immigration regulations (e.g., differences in family reunification, refugee, and H1-B visa policies). The final section discusses how these settlement patterns have led to differences in the identity formation and sociopolitical incorporation of Sikhs and Hindus in the two regions.

Family ideation, immigration, and the racial state: explaining divergent family reunification policies in Britain and the US

ABSTRACTWhy do family reunification policies differ across liberal democracies? Established literature explains differentiation through reference to the logics of distinct “national models” of immigration policy-making. Drawing on critical race and feminist scholarship, this paper finds consistent racial logics in the political histories of family reunification policies in Britain and the US during the mid-twentieth century. In a context where the geopolitical power of each country was conditioned by an assertive antiracist internationalism, “family” provided a colourblind, ideational platform to rearticulate the state-based racial project of white supremacy. Despite an original convergence, family reunification diverged because of the context-specific racialization of the immigrant family in each case. In rooting divergent reunification policies in the logics of the racial state, this paper contributes to efforts to incorporate race into the sociology of immigration. The paper also develops recent feminist scholarship on the role of “family ideation” in building liberal-democratic immigration systems.

(No) Migrating for Family Care in Later Life: Senchishak v Finland, Older Parents and Family Reunification

This article discusses the implications of family reunification policies for naturalised citizens and their older parents (usually mothers) in light of the illuminating case Senchishak v Finland from the European Court of Human Rights. As migration by parents wishing to join their adult children is usually motivated at least in part by considerations of care in old age, policies in many European states, including Finland, put strict limits on family reunification on the assumption that such migrants constitute a future economic burden to ageing societies and their already stretched public services. This article argues, firstly, that current policies rely on generalisations that disregard the nature of parental ties and dependency in families as well as the complex caregiving triad involving families, markets and the state and, secondly, that these policies contain largely hidden yet significant costs for citizens of immigrant background, especially women, giving rise to questions over their equality as citizens.

DISSECTING NETWORK EXTERNALITIES IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

Abstract:Migrant networks play an important role in explaining the size and structure of migration flows. They affect the private costs and benefits of migration (assimilation channel) and lower legal entry barriers through family reunification programs (policy channel). This paper presents a micro-founded identification strategy allowing to disentangle the relative importance of these two channels. Our empirical analysis exploits US immigration data by metropolitan area and country of origin. We first find that the elasticity of migration flows to network size is around one. More interestingly, we show that the policy channel accounted at most for a quarter of this elasticity in the 1990s, and the magnitudes of the total network effect and the policy channel are greater for low-skilled migrants. Our results are strongly robust to sample selection, identification assumptions, and treatment for unobserved bilateral heterogeneity. Furthermore, the policy channel was stronger in the 1990s than in the 1980s, possibly reflecting the changes in the US family reunification policies. We conclude that the government capacity to curb the migration multiplier exists, but is limited.

“Cancelled Dreams”: Family Reunification and Shifting Canadian Immigration Policy

ABSTRACTDrawing on a collection of personal interviews with immigrant families, this article documents the impact of recently introduced restrictive family reunification policies on immigrants living in Canada today. Since 2008, Canadian immigration policy has changed dramatically with renewed neoliberal emphasis on economic immigrants and labor-market integration. This article explores the impact of this policy shift on immigrant families and on immigrant women and children in particular. This article argues that there are profound human costs to limiting family reunification; these costs are disproportionately borne by immigrant women and ultimately impact immigrant integration and belonging.