Center for Comparative Immigration Studies

Although immigration obviously requires prior emigration, very little work in migration studies examines states of origin. In addition, most research that is concerned with a labor-exporting country generally examines either social networks or the impact of remittances and worker absence on families or home communities. Brand argues that just as immigration policy should be understood as more than simply the nature of border controls and visas, emigration policy should also be analyzed from a broad perspective. This includes political, economic, and cultural policies and practices of the home state that deliberately target some aspect of its expatriates' lives. To better understand the bases of emigration policy, Brand explores the establishment and development of several state institutions in Morocco (a separate ministry for Moroccans abroad and the Foundation Hassan II) and Tunisia (I'Office des Tunisiens a I'Etranger). She examines various traditional explanations for the formation of immigration policy in receiving states (the economy, security, changing global norms) in order to determine their relevance to the emigration policies of migrant-sending countries.