Immigration poses a significant challenge to states’ existing social protection
systems, especially in developing countries that are already struggling to provide social
services for their citizens. In particular, immigration produces a tension between
citizenship rights—those extended only to citizens, and social rights—rights extended
by the state to others within their national territory. Immigration raises questions not
only about the rights and access of migrants to health and other social services but also
the level and quality of provisions to citizens. We draw on literatures on welfare
regimes in Latin America, welfare magnets, and the legitimacy of social rights to
examine the nexus of migration and health care policy in Costa Rica, Argentina, and
Chile—three countries that have recently pursued immigration reform. We argue that
variation in the extension of immigrants’ social rights to health is explained by the
interaction of existing migration and social policies, the nature of the health care system
in each country, and, in some cases, international and regional norms.
