ABSTRACT

Scholars of immigration policy have traditionally investigated why and how national governments regulate the entry into their territory of foreign citizens for the purpose of permanent resettlement. In recent decades, immigration policy research has broadened its focus to include more aspects of the regulation of human mobility, and has become more integrated with related bodies of scholarly literature. In what follows, we first consider the historical background to the contemporary regulation of migration. We then explore the range and causes of variation in immigration policies in contemporary industrialized democracies. Finally, we examine some promising new directions for research, including normative theories of immigration policy, and immigration policy in developing countries.