The Arrival of the “Other(s)” – What can be Learnt from Legislative Changes after the “Refugee Crises” of 2015?

The arrival of large numbers of asylum seekers in the summer and autumn of 2015 lead to many political reactions all over Europe. It also led to quick and significant changes in Asylum legislation and procedures on EU as well as national level. This paper will look at these reactions and chart such legislative changes within the EU as well as selected Member States, such as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, or Hungary, which are portrayed to be affected the most by the influx of asylum seekers, but also Member States such as the UK, France, Poland, or the Baltic States, which did not have to cope with huge influxes of people. Looking at this legislative reactions, the paper seeks to answer 4 sets of questions: (1) What are the underlying assumptions about who is arriving to claim asylum? Are there different groups visible in the legislative reactions and are different procedures installed for these groups? (2) How are different groups of asylum seekers seen by legislators? Who is treated favorably in relationship to other groups? (3) Are there different statuses, procedures, or trajectories determining the short, mid-term, and long-term future of asylum seekers within the receiving society based on said differentiations in the law? What does that say about the view of the legislator on who is welcome, who is tolerated, and who is unwanted? (4) What are the commonalities and differences in the reactions of the EU and the Member States? Have countries who had to deal with high numbers of asylum seekers reacted with different legislative changes than countries with lower numbers? The paper takes as a point of departure that immigration legislation always functions as a mirror displaying ideals and standards legislators regard fundamental in the receiving societies. These standards are reflected in immigration conditions in the law. Legal changes made ad hoc to immigration legislation against the background of the ‘refugee crises’ therefore tells a lot about the underlying assumption about who is arriving, who can stay, and who cannot. In other words, it tells a lot about who is considered to be 'the other' and who is not.