The Dilemmas of Immigration 'Control' in the USA

Dr. James Hollifield, the Ora Nixon Arnold Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science, Director of the Tower Center, and Acting Director of the Texas-México Center at Southern Methodist University will be giving a guest lecture as part of a lecture series celebrating, and investigating, the legacy of the American Founding. The talk will be held in AC Room 3B04 on Thursday, March 19th from 2-3:30pm.

All countries in the world face the challenge of managing international migration and mobility. The dilemmas of migration ‘control’ are especially acute in liberal democracies. To maintain economic competitiveness and high levels of non-inflationary growth, and to support the welfare state and pension systems in rapidly aging societies, liberal states must keep their economies open to immigration, while maintaining border control and respecting migrant rights. This is a liberal paradox. Professor James Hollifield will give a lecture reflecting on the liberal paradox in the current climate of resurgent nativism and national populism. In the 2024 US Presidential election, immigration, asylum seeking, and border control were lightning rods mobilizing the electorate. President Trump promised to restore border control, stop asylum seeking, and roll back the rights of immigrants and minorities. With his illiberal and restrictive approach to immigration, has Trump found a way out of the liberal paradox by undermining liberalism (rights and markets), and what will the consequences of his policies be for the future of the American polity, the economy, and society? Hollifield will draw upon decades of research into the political economy of immigration to explain the effects of Trump’s policies. Is this the end of the liberal interregnum in US and world politics (1945-2025 RIP) and if so, what next?