The Rights of Noncitizens in the Territory
Chapter 10 considers what is owed to noncitizens already present in the territory of democratic countries. It focuses on three groups of noncitizens: those admitted on a temporary basis, those who have been granted permanent residence, and those who have overstayed their temporary visas or entered the territory without authorization. What legal rights are these different groups of noncitizens morally entitled to? How should their claims be weighed against the right of states to control immigration? The chapter argues that the longer one lives in the territory, the stronger one’s moral claim to a more extensive set of rights, including the right to remain. The time spent living in a place serves as a proxy for the social ties migrants have developed (social membership principle) and for their contributions to collective life (fair-play principle).