Politics

Politics through a migrant's eyes

Politics reaches migrants through laws on residence, welfare, deportation and access to citizenship. Decisions by parties and governments are therefore judged here by one test: what they change in practice for people holding visas, residence permits or temporary protection.

Campaign pledges and binding rules are kept apart, because a party statement is not a law and a new law does not always change things overnight.

In parliamentary systems such as Germany and Poland, parties rarely govern alone, so one party's pledges are usually softened in coalition. Laws on foreigners pass through several stages, from bill and vote to signature and publication, and can be changed or stopped at each one. In Poland the president can veto a bill, and the Sejm can override the veto only with a three-fifths majority. In the US much of immigration policy is set by executive orders and agency rules, which federal courts can suspend.