Equality, Justice and the Problem of International Borders

I examine the legitimacy of immigration controls in the context of Canada and this country’s restrictive immigration policies. Despite the fundamental, philosophical arguments against immigration restrictions, the necessity of immigration controls is rarely questioned in Canadian politics. In this paper I suggest that there is an incredible cynicism of Canadian immigration policies with respect to this country’s own political principles. The idea of international migration controls is neither sustainable from a larger liberal-theory perspective nor a political-economy viewpoint. I suggest that geographers should imagine alternatives to the current systems of immigration control and the regulation of the international movement of people.