The Advocate’s Dilemma: Framing Migrant Rights in National Settings

Authors

  • Maria Lorena Cook Cornell University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v4i2.999

Keywords:

immigrant labour, migrant rights activism, workers rights, United States,

Abstract

This article identifies and explores the dilemma of migrant advocacy in advanced industrial democracies, focusing specifically on the contemporary United States. On the one hand, universal norms such as human rights, which are theoretically well suited to advancing migrants' claims, may have little resonance within national settings. On the other hand, the debates around which immigration arguments typically turn, and the terrain on which advocates must fight, derive their values and assumptions from a nation-state framework that is self-limiting. The article analyzes the limits of human rights arguments, discusses the pitfalls of engaging in national policy debates, and details the challenges for advocates of advancing the cause of policy reform and shifting the frame for thinking about migration over the long term.

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Published

2010-12-15

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2010): Opening a Dialogue on Migrant (Rights) Activism

Section

Thematic Articles

License

Articles are published in Studies in Social Justice under the Creative Commons "Attribution/Non-Commercial/No Derivative Works" Canada licence.

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