9/11 Immigration Policy Analysis

Before 9/11 there was a trend of relatively favorable treatment of immigrants. While creating new laws and legislations, it is important to define the various types of immigration policies to understand the political responses in the US and Europe to different immigration issues. Immigration policy can be divided into two areas: immigration control (ie. Illegal immigration, political asylum, family reunification, and legal labor visas) and immigrant integration (citizenship, anti-discrimination, and language requirements). In other words, one aspect of immigration policy involves controlling migrant flows. This includes border control, which is a crucial component of not only migration flows but also of national security. The second aspect involves the incorporation of immigrants into society. Incorporation is beneficial for security purposes; for example, the integration of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants, has gained greater
The focus of incorporation efforts needs to go beyond newcomers and address issues that impact the second generation as well.
Under this system of classification, much of recent US policies fall under the aspect of control, while most European policy developments fall under integration. The differences in the approaches to immigrant integration highlight the divergent ways in which immigration and security are defined in the US and Europe. The US has focused more recently on external threats, particularly from Mexico. Therefore, border control has taken precedence, while there has been almost no emphasis on immigrant integration. In fact, the US has no nationally organized integration policy. In contrast, Europe has taken a more internal approach, which has led to a greater focus on integration policies rather than border control. The focus of these policies has shifted over time in many countries like the Netherlands,