Introduction

This introductory chapter lays out the key questions of the book. It explains the background assumptions at play and the key philosophical commitments supporting the different arguments in the book. This chapter also explains the key arguments of the following chapters and how they come together to support a partial theory of immigrations that avoids both open borders and complete control of immigration on the part of states. It also explains how the theoretical framework defended in the first part of the book affects the applied questions pursued in the second part of the book, such as the ethics of asylum, family migration schemes, the brain drain, and immigration enforcement.

Family Migration Schemes and Liberal Neutrality

This chapter argues that the privileging of romantic and familial ties by those who believe in the liberal state’s prima facie right to exclude prospective immigrants cannot be justified. The reasons that count in favor of these relationships count equally in favor of a great array of relationships, from friends to creative collaborators, and whatever else falls in between. The result of the discussion is that liberal states must either focus on the interests of children only or the interests of all citizens who would like to be reunited with a person they enjoy a valuable and irreplaceable relationship.

Cohort, Policy, and Process: The Implications for Migrant Fertility in West Germany

Although a growing literature explores the relationship between migration and fertility, far less scholarship has examined how migrant childbearing varies over time, including across migrant cohorts. I extend previous research by exploring migrant-cohort differences in fertility and the role of changing composition by education and type of family migration. Using 1984–2016 German Socio-Economic Panel data, I investigate the transition into first, second, and third birth among foreign-born women in West Germany. Results from an event-history analysis reveal that education and type of family migration—including marriage migration and family reunions—contribute to differences in first birth across migrant cohorts. Specifically, more rapid entry into first birth among recent migrants from Turkey stems from a greater representation of marriage migrants across arrival cohorts, while increasing education is associated with reduced first birth propensities among recent migrants from Southern Europe. I also find variation in the risk of higher parity transitions across migrant cohorts, particularly lower third birth risks among recent arrivals from Turkey, likely a result of changing exposures within origin and destination contexts. These findings suggest that as political and socioeconomic circumstances vary within origin and destination contexts, selection, adaptation, and socialization processes jointly shape childbearing behavior.

Family Migration and Social Integration of Migrants: Evidence from Wuhan Metropolitan Area, China

The social integration in host cities of China’s migrant population and its determinants has received much attention from researchers. However, few have directly addressed the family migration in differentiating migrants’ social integration. This study employs descriptive statistics and multivariate regression to explore the social integration across different family migration types, based on the data of China Migrants Dynamic Survey 2013 and 2017 in Wuhan metropolitan area. The findings show that the family migration in Wuhan metropolitan area is prevalent, and the central city Wuhan has advantages both in the proportion of whole-family migration and the scores of migrants’ social integration. In addition, the migrants’ family migration is significantly positively associated with their social integration, but the effect is variance in the regression models of social integration’s four dimensions. The findings reveal the Wuhan City’s leading position in promoting migrants’ social integration within the Wuhan metropolitan area. Furthermore, migration with more family members has higher levels of integration in economy and public service. This implies that the convenience provided by inflow cities’ government for family migration is crucial. To provide high-quality public services is of great significance to attract and retain migrants and then promote their overall social integration.

Peer Effects and Neighborhood Effects in Family Migration or Residence Decisions under the Background of Smoke-free Environment

Under the background of smoke-free environment, based on the survey data of CMDS 2013 and 2018, this study explored the differences in family migration and residence decisions of migrants living in different neighborhoods, and analyzed the influence of family migration scale on residence decision by using the hierarchical linear model (HLM). The results show that: Peer effects exist in same neighborhoods, while neighborhood effects exist in different neighborhoods, but the effect sizes and directions of various neighborhood factors are different; Family income level is still an important factor affecting the family migration and residence decisions, and the family migration scale has a positive effect on residence decision; There are significant inter-generational differences in family migration and residence decisions, but the conditions for the differences are different; Good neighborhood smoke-free environments and abundant neighborhood activities are helpful to strengthen the family migration and residence decision of migrant workers.

Does Family Migration Affect Access to Public Health Insurance? Medical Insurance Participation in the Context of Chinese Family Migration Flows

Using 2017 Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS) data, logistic regression models were developed to explore the family migration rate on health care participation of floating population. The analysis reveals that 68.69% of the floating population in China moves with at least one family member, but the local health insurance participation rate of them are relative low. However, family migration rate has a significant positive correlation with the health insurance participation of the floating population at the destination, which explains by family support and social integration mechanisms. The higher the degree of family migration, the higher the likelihood of participating in local health insurance system. Age, labor contract types, migration range and cities numbers, health records, and the accessibility of health resources have a significant negative correlation with health care participation of the floating population at the destination; gender, health, marriage, education, hukou types, monthly income, migration history, and move duration have a significant positive correlation. The effect of family migration rate on health care participation is weaker in group in which people are low-educated and signs non-fixed-term contract or gets bottom 50% monthly income or under the no-kids family structure. Potential policies informed by these findings are also explored.

Belonging and Displacement

This chapter contains a series of individual and family migration histories that represent common experiences of the violent removal of belonging after the Iraq War, followed by exile and survival in surrounding countries, and finally the momentous decision points about asylum seeking and resettlement in countries outside the Middle East. While each of these individuals’ stories is unique, they illustrate commonalities of the Iraqi refugee experience. The chapter describes how it was only after intense lobbying by refugee advocates, Iraq War veterans, and organizations such as LIST: The Project, that the resettlement door was opened via the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act. Thus, the first significant waves of Iraqi refugees began to arrive in the US in 2008. A total of 124,159 Iraqi refugees would be resettled in the US between 2008 and 2015. Iraq would be the number-one refugee sending country to the US for four of the next seven years.