Associate Professor Alexander Caviedes has written a chapter, “The Wayward Path to Convergence in European Immigration Policy,” that appears in “Migration in an Era of Restriction and Recession: Sending and Receiving Nations in a Changing Global Environment,” a new book published by Springer Press.
The book, edited by David Leal and Nestor Rodriguez, came out of a conference, “Migration During an Era of Restriction,” hosted by the University of Texas. Dr. Caviedes, of the Department of Politics and International Affairs, was an invited speaker, and his chapter serves as one of two introductory chapters in the book that contrast the development of European immigration policies to those of the United States.
In his chapter, Caviedes surveys the progression of immigration policies in Europe, arguing that global economic developments have accelerated convergence between European countries, and that has led to an increasing conjunction of immigration strategies among countries.
While Western Europe’s peace and economic prosperity have proven attractive to migrants from less developed and stable countries, Caviedes said a series of international institutions have also been instrumental in generating parallel policies. The United Nations (U.N.) Convention on Refugees mandates common standards that have provided opportunities for asylum seekers across Europe, but Caviedes also demonstrates how the European Union (EU) has increasingly produced common legislation in areas such as family reunion, high-skilled migration, asylum and irregular migration.
While national governments ultimately retain control over the migration from non-EU nationals, global economic trends, personified by such institutions as the EU and World Trade Organization, have ushered steadily increasing convergence over the last 30 years.
