Western European governments face a dilemma. On the one hand, their immigrant population is growing. On the other hand, the public opposes large-scale immigration and wants to restrict immigrants’ access to social benefits. We argue that in ‘reluctant countries of immigration’ such as France, Germany, and Great Britain, this tension is attenuated by reforms of social and migration policies. Firstly, migration policies are changed to encourage the arrival of ‘desired’ workers, while barriers to entry for ‘undesired’ immigrants are erected. Secondly, immigrant-specific social security schemes...

Western European governments face a dilemma. On the one hand, their immigrant population is growing. On the other hand, the public opposes large-scale immigration and wants to restrict immigrants’ access to social benefits. We argue that in ‘reluctant countries of immigration’ such as France, Germany, and Great Britain, this tension is attenuated by reforms of social and migration policies. Firstly, migration policies are changed to encourage the arrival of ‘desired’ workers, while barriers to entry for ‘undesired’ immigrants are erected. Secondly, immigrant-specific social security schemes are reformed in order to reduce the incentive for immigrants to come in the first place. Finally, immigrants are disproportionately affected by the cutbacks in social security programs since the 1990s. These reforms contribute to the persistence of socio-economic differences between immigrants and citizens despite considerable efforts aimed at integrating the immigrants into their host societies.