ABSTRACT
“Unauthorized migrants” are people who reside in a state without having legal permission to live there. This chapter looks at the human rights of unauthorized migrants and some special difficulties they face in having those rights protected. It discusses membership rights, focusing especially on the “right to remain”: to have a protected period of time during which they can remain in a state, perhaps indefinitely. The chapter considers the rights of unauthorized migrants. It focuses on the right to remain and how different theories of migrant rights might support a regularization program. The chapter also considers their human rights and saw that there are special difficulties with making sure that those rights are protected, given the precarious position of unauthorized migrants. It describes some methodological issues around whether there is a “neutral” terminology within which to discuss these migrants. The chapter shows how those theories might respond to the objection that regularization programs violate the rule of law.
