Jesse Tomalty | Discrimination at the Border | Philosophy Speaker Series

In this talk, Dr. Jesse Tomalty will evaluate several recent accounts of why it is morally impermissible for states to discriminate against prospective immigrants on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. It is a point of broad consensus among scholars of the ethics of migration that it is morally impermissible for states to discriminate against prospective immigrants on these and other grounds, but explaining why has proven a challenge for those who affirm that states have a general right to exclude. After motivating the apparent tension between the right of states to exclude and the non-discrimination constraint, Tomalty will discuss some recent attempts to resolve it. She argues that none are satisfactory. Drawing on recent work on wrongful discrimination, she argues this is because the wrong of discrimination by states against prospective immigrants cannot be accurately and fully recognized without challenging the foundations of the right of states to exclude.  

Jesse Tomalty is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research is in contemporary political philosophy and ethics, with a focus on conceptual and normative questions about global socioeconomic justice and human rights. Her work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, the Journal of Applied Philosophy, and Philosophy and Public Issues.

This event is co-presented by the Social Justice Centre and will be streamed via Zoom only.