De muur rond de verzorgingsstaat. Internationale migratie en sociale uitsluiting

Samenvatting

The Wall around the Welfare State. International Migration and Social Exclusion. This chapter advances the argument that the current strengthening of the external border of the European Economic Area is accompanied by a strengthening of the welfare state border, in order to exclude unwanted immigrants from work and public provision and to prevent that increasing numbers of (temporary) labor migrants will rely on welfare state provisions. The new restrictions put special emphasis on illegal immigrants. It also argues that the current attempts to regulate (temporary) labor migration will not substantially reduce the number of illegal immigrants residing within the advanced West European societies. A new situation is evolving in which granting social rights to foreigners has become more problematic, and the universal scope of welfare state institutions is increasingly being replaced by a bias toward selectivity. The Dutch Benefit Entitlement (Residence Status) Act is one symptom of this, as is the differentiated labor migration policy being pursued in advanced welfare states. They have not only raised the external wall around Europe, but also the walls around the welfare state. These new walls will generate severe inequalities within these countries through the selective treatment of immigrants. The paradox of globalization persists: reduced barriers to the circulation of capital, consumer goods, and information have not extended to human mobility and citizenship rights, at least not for substantial numbers of immigrants from poor countries. 50 References. Adapted from the source document.