Who's Deserving? Migrants' Views on Asylum Policy

• In Event: Exploring Identity and Deservingness in Migration Policy

Abstract

How do migrants fleeing crises conceptualize the refugee label? How do they think about the rights of countries to prioritize certain types of migrants? We conducted surveys in two forced migration contexts: first, in 2016 with 1192 Syrians and 235 Iraqis who fled to Turkey or Jordan or remained in Syria or Iraq; and second, in 2019 with 1612 Venezuelans in Colombia. In these surveys, we asked about migrants’ views on how they define “refugees,” and their personal experiences leaving their home countries. The survey is unique in that we are able to make multiple comparisons: between those who are legally categorized by international community as “refugees” (Syrians and Iraqis) and those who do not fall under this legal category (Venezuelans); and between those who crossed international borders, who are internally displaced, and who chose to remain in their homes. We use conjoint experiments to probe respondents’ views on which refugees are deserving of assistance and which countries have the greatest duties to help. We find that migrants tend to espouse views consistent with both instrumentalism and sociotropism, favoring others like them for priority entrance. We find little evidence that they develop solidarities with other migrants or engage in perspective-taking.

Authors

• Margaret E. Peters, University of California, Los Angeles

• Yang-Yang Zhou, Dartmouth College

• Thania Sanchez, American Civil Liberties Union