A left-right divide in European attitudes toward immigrants

Among the many projects that look at integration policy toward immigrants, the Migrant Integration Policy Index is one of the most ambitious. The index breaks integration policy into six “strands.” The map shows an overall metric of the extent to which countries guarantee access to the labor market, secure residence status, ensure family reunion, enable political participation (which in some European countries includes the right to vote in local elections even before citizenship is attained), encourage acquisition of nationality, and prohibit discrimination. Based on the types of policy coded, MIPEX scores emphasizes the positive side of integration. Overall, Sweden has the highest score while Austria is an example of an older E.U. member state that scores poorly.
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