A paradox of officially rejecting but covertly accepting irregular migrants has long been identified in the immigration policies of Western immigrant receiving states. In South America, on the other hand, a liberal discourse of universally welcoming all immigrants, irrespective of their origin and migratory status, has replaced the formally restrictive, securitized and not seldomly ethnically selective immigration rhetoric.
Suggested citation: Diego Acosta and Luisa Feline Freier, ‘Turning the immigration policy paradox up-side down? Populist liberalism and discursive gaps in South America’ (2015) International Migration Review Vol. 49 (3), pp. 659-697.
