Catarina Reis Oliveira

There are multiple determinants of international migration, but family reasons stand out, especially through family reunification, which is one of the main channels for regular entry into Europe. While European countries cannot formally deny the right to fam ily reunion, they do control entry and residence of immigrants, thereby restricting it. This article provides a sociological and historical analysis of the legal framework for family reuni f ication in Portugal up to 2025 (struc ture effect), which has made Portugal the most favourable European country for this right. Based on complaints received by the ombudsman, between 2004 and 2024, the article examines the administrative practice of the right to family reunification, considering the experiences of immigrant families and institutions involved in the process. It highlights individuals’ ability to inter pret, adapt to, and react to the right to family reunification (agency effect).

Throughout the twentieth century, the intensification of migration flows prompted an increasing focus by academics and policy-makers on fostering the integration of immigrants in receiving societies. This emphasis also led to discussions on the feasibility of measuring and monitoring integration. Numerous policies addressing migrant integration gained a sound conceptual foundation, reshaping knowledge production through interaction with policy-making and expanding data collection and analysis. Integration is a key illustration of potential reflective dialogue between research, policy and measurement. Nevertheless, publications that relate these three approaches of integration – theoretical, political and statistical – are scarce, primarily due to limited communication between these fields in most countries, a lack of covenant between theoretical, political and methodological concepts and indicators, and the multidimensional and dynamic nature of migrant integration. This article seeks to contribute to this debate, focusing on Portugal, a relatively ‘new’ immigration country recognized for having one of the world’s best integration policies, albeit without a historically rooted national integration model. This article examines the evolution of research–policy–statistics relationships and structures since the 1990s concerning migration and integration. It explores the foundations of the co-production of common operational concepts in theory, policy-making and statistical indicators, seeking a more comprehensive understanding and less dichotomized appropriation of these concepts. This article intends to promote reflection among policy actors, practitioners, scholars and statisticians regarding their actions and interactions in the context of the complexity of migrant integration. It also contributes to the research landscape by conceptualizing the intricacies of immigrant integration while assessing whether mainstreaming, rather than alienation, characterizes Portugal’s approach to organizing and guiding these processes.

O objetivo deste artigo é refletir sobre os desafios que se colocam perante os novos fluxos de refugiados dirigidos à Europa desde o início da segunda década do século XXI. Com o intuito de explicar a nova crise dos refugiados, revisita-se o modelo de repulsão-atração e confronta-se o desígnio da agência – motivos individuais que induzem à migração – com a interferência da estrutura – fatores económicos, sociais e políticos que explicam o aumento dos fluxos, atendendo também à dinâmica e operacionalidade do enquadramento legal vigente no contexto europeu. Apesar da escassa evidência empírica ainda disponível, conclui-se que os novos movimentos de refugiados colocam profundos desafios à observação e análise teórica, bem como ao enquadramento legal existente, assumindo-se por isso que são necessários estudos mais aprofundados e novos instrumentos de regulação para responder à dimensão e complexidade dos fluxos.

Previous research highlighted the underrepresentation of immigrants in receiving societies’ political system. Furthermore in countries with authoritarian legacies a tendency for civic apathy and weak parties was identified. Under such circumstances, what are the chances for immigrants’ political claims within the political opportunity structure (POS)? What role do individuals and groups play – their agency – in propelling immigrants’ political claims? Taking Portugal as a case study, this article analyses how immigrants’ political inclusion is influenced by access to political rights, the party system, and the citizenship regime, envisaging a comprehensive view upon the macro-structure that creates the conditions for such inclusion. The POS’ analytical role is discussed to understand immigrants’ political mobilization and involvement with political parties. Additionally, acknowledging that political contexts can be appropriated differently by actors, we consider the weight of perceptions (and its mismatches with the objective POS), by analysing the discursive environment in which political strategies occur.

Más allá de las estrategias étnicas: tácticas empresariales de inmigrantes como procesos creativos y dinámicos