Excluding Immigrants by Nationality

The growing influence of the far right on immigration policy has increasingly manifested in restrictions that target migrants on the basis of nationality. In pursuing tough-on-migration agendas, the UK and the US have, respectively, introduced visa restrictions on nationalities deemed most likely to overstay or claim asylum and a 15-country travel ban widely characterised as an “African ban.” While nationality has long been one of the most significant determinants of international mobility, the rise of far-right influence has made nationality even more central. Exclusion based on nationality is assumed to be morally problematic only insofar as it tracks other, more clearly morally problematic criteria, such as race or ethnicity. This paper challenges this assumption and argues that nationality is morally significant in its own right, specifically because of its connection to global influence. Drawing on dominant accounts of the global order, I develop an account of the concern raised by inequalities in global influence. Because such inequalities are entrenched not only at the global level but also within states, I argue that migration policy should play a role in mitigating them. States therefore have a duty to admit migrants from countries with comparatively less power and influence.