Irregular Migrants and the Demands of Relational Equality 107 views

What should states do with irregular migrants who permanently reside in their territory? Scholars such as Carens and Rubio-Marín have defended their naturalization by drawing on a theory of social membership. More Recently, however, Brock has challenged the idea of social membership as a justification for the naturalization of irregular migrants. Nonetheless, as she drops the idea of social membership, she can only defend irregular migrants’ right not to be deported, in line with authors such as Ochoa Espejo and Blake. I argue that relational equality can provide a defense for granting irregular migrants citizenship rights—their complete naturalization. Irregular migrants are permanently subjected to the laws of the state they reside in without having any power or influence over them, which results in an objectionable social inequality. I argue that such concerns about inequality of status override the right of the demos to determine its membership and concerns about irregular migrants’ original breaking of the law. Finally, I hold that even if my proposal for naturalization cannot gain political support, it can highlight the usefulness of policies that aim to help irregular migrants and also explain why other policies that deal with them seem morally troubling to us.

MA (Master of Arts)

Irregular migrants; Relational Equality; Naturalization; Political Rights; Citizenship

English

2024-04-28