The Right to Exclude and the Duty to Include: Self-determination, Equal Opportunity, and Immigration

Abstract The immigration debate in political theory has produced a series of accounts that justify the state’s right to exclude potential immigrants, where self-determination figures prominently. We challenge two prominent self-determination-based and defend circumscribed corollary duty admit based on our ‘people relationship goods’ account self-determination. Our conception reconciles moral claims global opportunity migrants with well-being non-alienation interests locals. It therefore provides principled answer philosophical question underlying pressing conflicts today, namely what is permissible scope exclusion by self-determining communities, light weighty demands inclusion.