Foreigners as Actors in the Shaping of Immigration Integration Policy

• In Event: Migration and Nationalism in Newer Countries of Immigration

Abstract

How do the voices and actions of foreigners and immigrants affect their integration into the destination country? Do they affect native citizens' attitudes toward their government's treatment of foreign-born individuals? Most research on immigration has put less focus on the voices and actions of foreign-born individuals since they generally do not have political rights in the new country. This paper focuses on whether and how the efforts made by immigrants/foreigners to improve their lives in the new country affect the attitudes of native citizens toward their government's immigration integration policy. To investigate this, I run an experiment in South Korea, a country experiencing low birth rates and thus an increasing need for immigration. In the experiment, various types of foreign-born individuals in South Korea, such as international students, high-skilled individuals, and low-skilled individuals, advocate for their rights on the streets, aiming to garner support from ordinary South Korean citizens. I compare this with cases where native citizens advocate for immigrants’ rights and those where no treatment is given. Compared to the two baseline cases, I find that the efforts of foreign-born individuals significantly increase positive attitudes toward lenient policies for the rights of foreign-born individuals among native citizens. This paper provides several implications on how a government could efficiently integrate immigrants into society by shedding light on the roles of foreign-born individuals.

Author

• Rena Sung, Kyung Hee University