Contentious Designs: Ideology and U.S. Immigration Policy

As underscored by recent refugee and asylum crises, targeted immigration bans, pandemic-related travel restrictions, and border security controversies, the centrality of international migration to foreign policy has been unmistakable during the past decade. In truth, this is far from novel. Immigration has long been a touchstone for debates over economic, security, and humanitarian concerns that are significant to international relations. From Cold War administrations melding immigration and refugee policy with geopolitical imperatives to congressional majorities focused on strengthening economic competitiveness or science and technology, immigration control lies at the intersection of domestic and international politics.¹ Immigration policy is formative not