Resident Aliens Research Articles

Why do parties support emigrant voting rights?

AbstractPolicies allowing enfranchisement of non-resident citizens (emigrants and their descendants) are now implemented in the majority of states worldwide. A growing number of case studies show that the extension of voting rights to non-resident citizens is often contested among country of origin political parties. However, there is no systematic comparative study of why different political parties support or oppose external voting rights and how this position is framed by the parties. Drawing on a unique data set based on 34 debates across 13 countries, we estimate the extent to which ideology and party family are correlated with the positioning and framing of parties. Among the findings are that the more to the right is a party, the more it tends to support external voting rights, except in the case of radical right parties. The position on emigrant voting rights is largely framed along more pragmatic arguments.

International Migration and Turnout Bias

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on two commonly used indicators of turnout, VAP turnout (the number of votes cast as a percentage of the voting-age population) and RV turnout (votes cast as a percentage of the number of registered voters), and discusses possible biases induced by migration flows. Using a global dataset on elections in more than 100 democracies between 1990 and 2012, we tested the potential bias induced by the percentage of resident noncitizens and nationals living abroad on VAP and RV turnout, respectively. Through time-series cross-sectional analysis, we found that the number of resident noncitizens negatively biases VAP turnout, to the extent that a country with 10% noncitizen residents would have turnout underreported by nearly 4 percentage points. In contrast, we found that the number of nationals living abroad does not induce a turnout bias.

Location Matters: Is the Immigration Debate over Stocks or Flows?

Vast research on immigration lumps together native citizens' attitudes toward two different groups: the immigrant stock, i.e., non-naturalized resident aliens, and the immigrant flow, i.e., future waves of foreigners that seek to enter and live in the country. This paper studies how and why natives' attitudes differ with respect to the two groups. We analyze theoretically the reasons the and flow of immigration might induce different views among natives, and then present evidence from several experiments which show that Americans are systematically more acceptant of the former. Our analysis indicates that this stock premium partly stems from a sense of moral obligation toward people residing in the country. In contrast, contact with immigrants and variation in the perceived characteristics of the immigrant groups play little role in explaining the premium. Replicating two widely-cited experiments, we show that the stock-flow distinction has important implications for the interpretation of earlier findings on immigration attitudes.

Noncitizen Voting Rights in the Global Era: a Literature Review and Analysis

Today, people are moving from countryside to city, city to city, and country to country at one of the highest rates in human history. Globalization, poverty, war, persecution, and environmental crises—as well as the pursuit of safety and better economic opportunities—are propelling a mass migration of people from the Global South to the Global North. In response, some countries have limited immigration directly or restricted certain rights and privileges to discourage immigrants. Conversely, other countries have provided refuge and expanded pathways to rights and benefits out of altruism and humanity, economic self-interest, or both. As the pace of global migration has increased, the idea that political rights should follow or accompany immigrants has also grown and gained traction. Voting is one such right. Most countries typically limit voting rights to its citizens. However, during the past several decades, some have extended the franchise to noncitizen residents. In fact, at least forty-five countries presently allow noncitizen residents to vote in their local, regional, or even national elections. What is driving the expansion of noncitizen voting (NCV)? Where and to what ends are such policies being enacted? For this article, the authors conducted a systematic review to examine these questions and assess the implications of enfranchisement for advancing immigrant incorporation and democratic practice.

Local electoral rights for non-French residents? A case-study analysis of British candidates and councillors in French municipal elections

ABSTRACTThe French Constitution restricts local electoral rights to French nationals and EU citizens. Third country nationals have long been excluded from suffrage as France has maintained a stronghold on nationality and republican values. Academics have called for expansive and liberal citizenships that would allocate political rights to all non-citizen residents, independent of nationality. This paper argues that Brexit and cessation of Britons’ electoral rights present a pivotal moment to discuss expansive citizenship and alien suffrage. Taking a bottom-up approach, the paper presents actual experiences of Britons as candidates and councillors in French municipalities. It demonstrates the importance of residency, representation, participation and inclusion, rather than nationality at the local level to underpin claims for expanding electoral rights. These findings foreground an empirical case for further promotion of theoretical ideas that propose expansive citizenship based on effective residency rather than nationality. Consideration is also given to third country nationals.

EU citizens in post-Brexit UK: the case for automatic naturalisation

ABSTRACTOne of the most passionately contested issues in the aftermath of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in the June 2016 referendum concerned the standing of EU citizens residing in British territory. This article addresses this question from the perspective of normative political theory. Connecting the issue to recent debates about immigrant rights and the political significance of territorial presence, I argue that non-citizen residents should be granted full citizenship of the host state rather than a mere right to stay. This naturalisation process should proceed automatically in the case of EU citizens in post-Brexit UK, given legitimate expectations on both sides created during the UK’s membership in the European Union.

Heath Status of U.S. Immigrants and the Process of Becoming a Legal Permanent Resident Alien

Using the first round of the 2003 cohort of the New Immigrant Survey, a nationally representative sample of new legal immigrants to the United States, we investigate the relationship between the process of becoming a legal permanent resident alien (the process of obtaining a green card) and the self-reported health status of U.S immigrants. Results from ordered-logitistic regressions indicate that immigrants who felt sad, blue or depressed because of the process of becoming a legal permanent resident in the U.S. were more likely to report a lower health status.

Non-universal suffrage: measuring electoral inclusion in contemporary democracies

The electoral franchise has become more universal as restrictions based on criteria such as sex or property have been lifted throughout the process of democratisation. Yet, a broad range of exclusions has persisted to this date, making the suffrage non-universal, even in established democracies. In this article, we present ELECLAW, a new set of indicators that captures the subtle and variegated legal landscape of persisting electoral rights restrictions. We measure the inclusiveness of the right to vote and the right to stand as candidate across four levels and three types of elections for three categories of voters: citizen residents, non-citizen residents, and non-resident citizens. ELECLAW currently covers fifty-one democracies in three different continents (the Americas, Europe, and Oceania) depicting the legal situation in 2015. The article introduces the methodology used for building the indicators so as to make it transparent to the broader research community. To this aim, it successively unpacks the conceptualisation underlying the indicators, explains the measurement by providing specific examples, and discusses the merits of a differentiated and context-driven method of aggregation.

Muddy waters: citizenship and the right to vote in the Commonwealth Caribbean migratory context

ABSTRACTTwo global voting trends are noted in the electoral studies literature: the exclusion of resident noncitizens and the inclusion of non-resident citizens in national elections. These two research streams are rarely studied together. By analysing both of these trends in the Commonwealth Caribbean, the article reveals how the assumed relationship between citizenship and the right to vote does not always hold. Citizenship is neither necessary nor sufficient to exercise full political rights. The Commonwealth Caribbean thus diverges from global voting trends and illustrates the complexities and changing shape of the relationship between citizenship and the right to vote.

Interview with Hadil Ghoneim, an Author from Egypt

Interview with Hadil Ghoneim, an Author from Egypt Yasmine Motawy (bio) Hadil is a bilingual (Arabic and English) Egyptian author of several books for children and young adults and an active essayist. Her bestselling Sana fi Qena [A Year in Qena] received a great deal of attention, was on the 2016 IBBY Honor List, and was shortlisted for the 2014 Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature. She is known for her humorous and realistic middle-reader books that focus on community building. In her early career, Hadil wrote biographies of notable Egyptians for middle readers and in 2006 her biography of Nobel prize–winning author Naguib Mahfouz was selected to be added to all Egyptian public-school libraries. During her time as senior editor at the Cairo-based publishing house Dar El Shorouk, she translated and localized into Arabic many books for children, including the famous book series Geronimo Stilton. Hadil's essays, profiles, and interviews have appeared in numerous Egyptian media outlets. Hadil holds an MA in culture and society from the London School of Economics and a BSc in political science from Cairo University. She is currently based in Michigan with her husband and young daughter. So, Hadil, how did you make your way from studying in the humanities to writing for children? After I finished my MSc in cultural studies at LSE, I was meant to return to my editorial job at Weghat Nazar, a literary review magazine in Egypt. Instead, I found myself happily accepting a position in the children's books department at the magazine's parent company, Dar El Shorouk. It felt like the most natural thing for me, because even as a student, I was always finding ways to steer my work towards the world of children's literature. For example, as a fresh graduate I led a team of volunteers in an oral cultural [End Page 46] heritage project by collecting traditional "house tales" from women all over Egypt. Years later, I chose to write my master's dissertation on the local reception of Disney's Mickey Mouse comic magazines in their Egyptianized version. Writing for children, however, came gradually; I started with translating, localizing, and editing translations of children's books. My first book for children was the Naguib Mahfouz biography. I was comfortable writing a research-based book because I had been specifically trained to write research, and I loved the process of storifying and simplifying. After two years at Dar El Shorouk, I had authored three more picturebooks that were turned into the Green Home Series and covered topics like waste and water management, civic responsibility, and community engagement. It was a fantastic beginning because I was working alongside the art director, the illustrators, and the graphic designers in the "kitchen," so to speak, and the learning and confidence curve was high. How do the other hats you wear impact the "children's author" hat? I get excited by research-based writing projects, and early on in my career I felt that my books had to have a strong informative value. I wanted them to carry all I had found important in studying and writing about politics, dialogue, community, and culture. Today, I feel more focused on my writing as a creative expression of myself that is performed for the child reader. Losing those hats along the way has liberated my writing and made it subtler. The parenthood hat must be informing my work as well, as I am always peeking into the world of children as I watch my daughter grow. Another hat I currently wear is that of "resident alien" in the US, a status that keeps my senses open and my mind active in constantly reflecting on what is universal and what is culture-specific. How has your trajectory changed as a writer in terms of themes, style, or topic? While there was a strong storytelling element in my work from the start, even in the biographies I wrote for middle readers, it was only in 2011 that I broke out of the nonfiction mold, when I wrote A Year in Qena. Even though it was grounded in factual research and touched on the difficult...

In Memory of Her

In Memory of Her Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (bio) In her keynote address at the 2017 Women in Ministry Conference at Princeton University, Dr. Katie Cannon shared with the audience that she had on July 18, 2016, a "widow-maker" heart attack but—as she said—"kicked [her]self back to life." The last time I saw her, she shared and we reflected on this experience. At the time, I was just glad as her friend that she did so; today, I am convinced that she "kicked herself back to life" in order to fulfill her long-standing dream of launching the Center for Womanist Leadership. Katie and I were colleagues at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. Although we were at different levels of the academic ladder, we became good colleagues and collaborating friends, since we were both "outsiders" as the first two non-Episcopalian faculty members. Katie was a wonderful colleague, an engaging and challenging teacher, and an exceptional mentor, to which I can testify from experience. We taught a Scripture and Ethics course together at the Episcopal Divinity School (EDS), and she tried hard to mentor me out of my German habits of teaching; however, as she publicly recognized, this was done with mixed results. She also helped me, a "resident alien," understand the debates and altercations between black and white feminists, which often puzzled me and left me the*logically stranded. For instance, when I returned from a feminist conference in the Midwest, where an African American speaker had berated a room of Catholic, mostly Irish American and Italian American wo/men for their heritage of being the slave mistress and lady of the house, Katie pointed out that neither feminist nor womanist the*logians reflect much on class. During the years, she also mentioned again and again that she was attacked for referencing my work on a critical feminist the*logy of liberation, because feminist/ womanist the*logians often adopted unconsciously the Southern strategy of using race to divide poor black and poor white people. Hence, what bonded us most was probably our very different but nevertheless common class background, which compelled her to articulate womanist the*logy [End Page 129] and me a critical feminist the*logy of liberation.1 We shared the same experience, as both of our mothers worked as domestics and our grandmothers took care of us. But, of course, this experience was very different because of our historical-cultural background: Katie's in the culture of the Cannon Cotton Plantation, mine as an ethnic German refugee from Romania to Germany at the end of World War II. As children, we both knew hunger and greatly desired to own books to read. Despite all cultural differences, we could become friends because, on the one hand, we were inspired by the same the*logical vision of justice and liberation. On the other hand, we were strangers to socialization into high academic culture and hence could approach it with a hermeneutics of suspicion. Since we met around the same time as Judith Plaskow and I were planning to launch the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Katie was from the beginning a part of JFSR, as a founding member of the editorial board and later also the board of FSR. Her dream, however, was not a journal but a center. Hence, already at EDS, we dreamt and worked together on a proposal for a womanist/feminist center, which Katie wanted to name the Pauli Murray Center. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at that time. Hence, I am so very glad that she "kicked herself back to life" and was blessed to inaugurate the Center for Womanist Leadership as her legacy to all of us. In her last interview (with Dr. Alison Gise Johnson in JFSR) she promised: "For my third chapter, I am willing to continue excavating my own soul and work to make the Center for Womanist leadership happen."2 Let's support her to keep her promise! [End Page 130] Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is the Krister Stendahl Professor at Harvard University Divinity School and cofounding editor of JFSR. Her latest book, Ephesians was...

Introduction and General

Introduction and General Christopher T. Begg, Victor H. Matthews, Robert D. Miller, Thomas Hieke, and David A. Bosworth 728. Walter Ameling, Hannah M. Cotton, Werner Eck, Avner Ecker, Benjamin Isaac, Alia Kushnir-Stein, Haggai Misgar, Jonathan Price, Peter Weiß, and Ada Yardani (eds.), Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae, Vol IV. Iudaea/Idumaea, Part 1 2649–3324; Vol. IV Iudaea/Idumαea, Part 2 3325–3978 (Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2018). Pp. xxvi + 1-758 (Part 1); xi + 759-1580 (Part 2). €140,14 (Part 1); €140,14 (Part 2). ISBN 978-3-11-053744-4 (Part 1); 978-3-11-054364-3 (Part 2). The fourth volume of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae Palestinae (CHIP) is dedicated to the inscriptions from Iudaea proper and Idumaea. The two parts (IV 1-2) contain all the inscriptions from these areas with the exception of the ostraca. The latter have been found in this area in such huge quantities that they could not be included here; two other volumes will be dedicated to them in the future. The inscriptions are arranged, as in volume II, in a north-to-south order. The volume begins with Kefar Sirkin near Petah Tikva at the northwest end and terminates at Masada in the southeast. When more than one settlement occupies the same latitude, the inscriptions are in a west to east order. The territory covered in the volume was divided at least since the 2nd cent. a.d. between different communities or cities, but almost nowhere is it possible to assign the inscriptions to a specific territory of an ancient community or city. Consequently, most of the material had to be associated with a modern settlement and its surrounding area, rather than with an ancient one. Inscriptions found in a single place, when numerous, are divided into groups acccording to content, following the practice adopted in previous volumes. (Preface, Vol. 4, Part 1, p. v., adapted.) For each of the almost 1,300 inscriptions in the volume, the editors provide (to the extent possible) the following data: introductory notes concerning the given inscription's language, content, date, dimensions, and findspot; text in the characters of the language used (Greek, Aramaic, Latin, Armenian, etc.); transcription; translation; historical and philo-logical commentary; and bibliography, along with line drawings and/or photos of the item in question. Part 2 concludes with an index of personal names for all volumes in the series hitherto published and a series of maps plus a key to locations on these maps.—C.T.B. 729. Michael Barram, Missional Economics: Biblical Justice and Christian Formation (The Gospel and Our Culture; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018). Pp. xviii + 263. Paper $26. ISBN 978-0-8028-7507-5. This is a book of reflections on biblical economic justice and Christian discipleship. Its chapters work through both OT and NT texts that deal with such topics as the socioeconomic [End Page 227] realties of ancient Israel, including laws protecting widows, orphans, and resident aliens, and provisions (gleaning) for the poor. The economic reasoning in prophets like Amos, Isaiah, and Micah are also explored, as is the situation reflected in the Sermon on the Mount and the concept of "all things in common" found in Acts and the Pauline letters. B.'s concluding chapter addresses questions of missional hermeneutics, the concept of human dignity, as well as methods and mission, with a focus on the liberation of the oppressed from economic and social forms of bondage.—V.H.M. 730. Odette Boivin, The First Dynasty of the Sealand in Mesopotamia (SANER 20; Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2018). Pp. xii + 292. €81,26. ISBN 978-1-5015-1639-9. The reconstruction of the history of mid-2nd-millennium Babylonia has been complicated by a dire lack of sources. The Sealand kings who controlled part of the area in this period have long been known only indirectly. A recently published palatial archive, however, now enables us to illuminate this hitherto elusive polity from the inside. A study of this archive and a reassessment of the relevant historiographical...

Introduced garden plants are strong competitors of native and alien residents under simulated climate change

Abstract Most invasive plants have been originally introduced for horticultural purposes. Still, most alien garden plants have not naturalized yet, probably due in part to inadequate climatic conditions. Climate change may alter this, but few experimental studies have addressed this for non‐naturalized alien garden plants, and those that have, addressed only singular aspects of climate change. In a greenhouse experiment, we examined the performance of nine non‐naturalized alien herbaceous garden plants of varying climatic origins in response to simulated climate warming and reduced water availability, in a factorial design, as projected for southern Germany. To assess their invasion potential, we grew the species in competition with resident native and already‐naturalized alien species. Reduced watering negatively affected non‐naturalized garden plants, as well as the native and naturalized competitors, particularly at higher temperatures. However, non‐naturalized aliens performed better relative to competitors when temperatures increased. Naturalized and native resident competitor responses to climate change were both negative, but across climate treatments, non‐naturalized aliens, irrespective of their climatic origins, performed better against native than against naturalized competitors. Synthesis. We conclude that relative performance compared to resident species may increase for non‐naturalized alien garden plants under climate change, as resident species become less competitive. Ongoing climate change is therefore likely to promote naturalization of commonly planted alien herbaceous species.

When Can the IRS, NY, or NJ Tax the Worldwide Income of Resident or Nonresident Aliens?

On May 21, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS” or “Service”) announced new campaigns which include issues regarding residency. Those campaigns include a Nonresident Alien (NRA) Tax Treaty Exemption Campaign, a NRA Schedule A and Other Deductions Campaign, and a NRA Tax Credits Campaign. These recently announced campaigns show that the IRS is making NRA reporting compliance a priority. This article will review the rules regarding when the IRS, New York, or New Jersey can tax the income of both resident and NRAs, and the potential defenses available.

Contained or represented? The varied consequences of reserved seats for emigrants in the legislatures of Ecuador and Colombia

The legislatures of Colombia and Ecuador have reserved seats for their non-resident citizens (emigrants). This paper analyses the relationship between the formal, descriptive, and substantive dimensions of emigrant representation in their homeland legislatures. The analysis compares the legislative work of emigrant MPs (EMPs) with the legislative work of non-emigrant MPs (NEMPs) in Ecuador and Colombia. It presents a mixed methods approach that combines a quantitative text analysis based on an original dataset –composed of 35,446 floor speeches– with in-depth interviews with six EMPs. The results show that emigrant-related issues are significantly more salient in the legislature of Ecuador and Colombia suggesting that the effect of emigrant-reserved seats is correlated to the size of the external district. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that EMPs have a ‘mixed agenda’ composed by emigrant and domestic-related issues. Finally, the article shows that the probability of classifying a speech as emigrant-related increases when it is given by an EMP and not a NEMP. This effect is stronger in Ecuador than in Colombia. All in all, the article shows evidence that configurations that allocate several EMPs are more efficient in achieving substantive representation.

Mobility, Connectivity and Non-Resident Citizenship: Migrant Social Media Campaigns in the Irish Marriage Equality Referendum

The proliferation of migrant social media campaigns calling for a ‘Yes’ vote in the Irish Marriage Equality referendum (May 2015) raises new questions about the conventions of political participation and non-resident citizenship rights. Via a discourse analysis of these campaigns, this article shows how the algorithmic agency of social media combines with the political agency and affective identifications of campaigners to shape the terms of non-resident citizen claims for enfranchisement and sexual citizenship rights. The article argues that despite their novel political tactics, the central campaign discourses of (im)mobility (leaving/staying-put), connectivity (active engagement) and ongoing stake in an inclusive homeland are underpinned by conventional democratic criteria for enfranchisement. The article addresses how these discourses intersect with state and business regimes of mobility and connectivity to produce a particular ordering of citizenship. It also points to those emergent practices and norms of political participation generally, and of non-resident citizenship in particular, that are foregrounded by these campaigns.

Migration as Foundation: Hagar, the ‘Resident Alien’, as Euro-America’s Surrogate Self *

AbstractIn this paper I use Hagar as a type of the shifting modern figure of the migrant, refugee or ‘resident alien’ inside the national family. In a modern update of the productively anachronistic typologies attempted by the Church Fathers, I use the presence of the Egyptian slave in biblical-European foundations to trouble the unstable concept of Europe/Christendom founded on a (distant) Christian heritage. I also use what I’m calling the ‘Hagaramic’ to disturb bland invocations of the ‘Abrahamic’ on the contemporary political stage. What happens when we replace the spiritualised, fraternal/paternal figure of the Abrahamic with the Hagaramic: the immigrant mimic of the Abrahamic; the resident female Egyptian alien who is there before, and supports and enables, the ‘true’ family? How does my attempt to use this figure relate to earlier attempts (by thinkers like Sigmund Freud or Edward Said) to draw on strange old biblical figures to force European identities outside themselves?

Taxation and Democracy

Political economy assumes that taxation and democracy interact beneficially when there exists “congruence” or “equivalence” among those who vote on the tax, those who pay the tax, and those who benefit from the tax. Yet this only holds true when we look at the community of taxpayers as an aggregate, not at the position of the individual taxpayer. Individuals might regard democratic decision-making as a tool for the majority to exploit the minority. They might also perceive powerful special interest groups to extract preferential tax treatment to the detriment of other constituencies. In the international situation, the notion of “congruence” or “equivalence” comes under additional strain. Why do most countries allow citizens abroad to vote without being subject to tax while resident aliens are subject to tax without the right to vote? In recent years, tax competition has exerted even more pressure on democratic discourse: Is the “exit” option for individuals a source of irritation for democratic tax legislation or is it rather a useful device to protect the individual against being overtaxed? To what extent shall outside investors take into account the redistributive policies of States? These issues do not only challenge the traditional balance of taxation and democracy. They also challenge our views on how we perceive the State and how we define the community of taxpayers as agents of social justice. In tax law, the borderline between “us” and “them” has to be addressed as unlimited tax liability involves a notion of solidarity that is hard to capture in a globalized world. Against this background, this article explores the constitutional framework of taxation and democracy in a comparative fashion. It presents two major pathways for the protection of the individual in fiscal matters: protection by “content” (material tax principles) and protection by “consent” (voting rights) as they have evolved since the days of Hobbes and Locke. While the United Kingdom and the United States largely rely on the protective value of democratic consent, countries in Europe and in Latin America have resorted to hard-wired constitutional constraints on tax legislation, ensuring a high-degree of judicial review by constitutional courts. This constitutional framework comes under increased pressure once a country opens itself to the globalized world. It remains to be seen to what extent material principles – like the principle of equality – are in the position to restrain a country’s engagement in international tax competition.

Plebiscito de la paz: participación electoral de los migrantes colombianos en Guayaquil (Ecuador)

Resumen Este artículo ayuda a contextualizar el Plebiscito de Paz de 2016. Mejora el entendimiento sobre el voto en el exterior en mecanismos de democracia directa. Con datos observacionales, se realizan varios ejercicios estadísticos. A nivel descriptivo, se agrupan los motivos para (no) votar en el Plebiscito de la Paz en percepciones positivas y negativas. En el análisis inferencial, se reporta que las percepciones positivas se asocian significativamente a la participación electoral en el exterior. Esta participación se correlaciona positivamente a la experiencia en elecciones anteriores en Colombia, al seguimiento del Acuerdo de Paz y a la preocupación por las elecciones de 2018. Adicionalmente, la evidencia empírica subraya que los jóvenes son quienen tienes mayores probabilidades de participar en elecciones desde el exterior, de alta relevancia histórica como las elecciones de octubre de 2016.

Are Non-US Citizens More Likely to Die From Heat Exposure?

The article responds to an issue article on heat-related mortality among U.S. citizens as compared with among U.S. non-citizen residents. Topics include problems with heat intervention measures among at-risk non-citizens, regional prevalence of heat deaths in the Southwestern U.S., and the need for more accurate reporting of heat-related deaths.