Migration Legislation and Policy in Argentina

Abstract

In Argentina, the state expressed an interest in migration very early on. Three main laws have organized the country’s approach to migration: Law No. 817 of Immigration and Colonization (1876), popularly known as the Avellaneda Law; Law No. 22,439 (1981), known as the Videla Law, which was adopted during the military dictatorship; and the current Immigration Law (2004), or Law No. 25,871 (hereafter referred to as ML), which is based on an access to rights model. According to Cook, following the adoption of Law No. 817, the government officially acknowledged, and provided administrative support for migration policies that encouraged the colonial settlement of immigrants within the country.1 While the 1853 Argentine national constitution had already “encouraged European migration,” as part of the country’s national project,2 the Avellaneda Law continued with that progress proposal by “welcoming foreign immigrants – preferably farmers – as settlers in lands granted by the State.”3 However, the immigrants who arrived were not the ones “desired” by the political elites As a result, via the 1902 Law of Residence (No. 4,114) and the 1910 Law of Social Defense (No. 7,209), a group of restrictive rules started taking shape, regulating Argentine immigration for over a century...