Policies, politics and people: US and Canadian immigration policies from 1960 to the present

Abstract

My motivation for writing a thesis on Canadian and US immigration policies stems from my experience as an immigrant from Iran, navigating the Canadian immigration landscape and encountering several effects of Canadian immigration policies that could help new immigrants make informed migration decisions. This thesis critically investigates the evolution of immigration policies in the United States and Canada from the 1960s to the present, with a particular emphasis on their economic, social, and cultural dimensions. It seeks to illuminate how such policies simultaneously reflect and construct national narratives of belonging. In the United States, immigration has been alternately embraced and curtailed by shifting economic imperatives and the rise of populist discourses. In contrast, Canada has employed immigration as a strategic mechanism to attract economically desirable migrants, although tensions persist between its humanitarian commitments and neoliberal policy frameworks. Through a comparative analysis, this study demonstrates that these dynamics profoundly shape not only national trajectories but also the lived experiences of immigrants—among them the author, a diasporic Iranian-Canadian educator. Employing an autoethnographic methodology, the research foregrounds the mediating role of educators and educational institutions in negotiating the boundaries between inclusion and exclusion. As such, it contributes meaningfully to scholarship within faculties of education and to broader conversations on identity and belonging in multicultural societies. The findings yield critical insights for policymakers, teacher educators, and scholars concerned with the intersections of migration, education, and social integration.