Which Prospective Immigrants are Political Communities Morally Obliged to Include?

This paper begins by applying two “adverse impact theories of inclusion” in the literature in democratic theory to the situation of members of communities that have been shaped by U.S. intervention that later decide to immigrate to the United States. Both theories can be applied to respond to adverse impact claims arising from the solicitation of migrant laborers to serve the public interests of wartime production and infrastructure development. But they do not adequately address positive claims to inclusion by non-citizens who are already contributing to the welfare of the community they wish to join by supporting U.S. interests abroad or participating in civic initiatives as unauthorized residents. I argue that the contributions of both groups should be recognized as the basis for a priority claim to inclusion as legal permanent residents and eventual citizens of the United States