On 11 May 2023, the EBoP team dove deep into some of the key questions surrounding the debates on justice and migration, namely immigrants’ right to stay and the concept of migration temporariness more broadly.
Centered on the notion of immigrants’ agency, The Right Not to Stay offers a new perspective by arguing that not all migrants wish to carve out their future in the country of destination; thus, framing temporary migration as a conscious strategy aligned with migrants’ life projects. Seen from that perspective – the book argues – receiving countries may usefully reconsider the restrictive, often punitive migration policies intended to fend migrants off; granting them instead the right not to stay.
At the same time, the authors argue that this justifies policies restricting certain rights for temporary labour migrants, seen as not particularly relevant for this category. This challenges the prevailing view, rooted into the principle of equal treatment, among E-BoP researchers and the colleagues who joined us therefore giving rise to an interesting debate during our journal club.