The Ideal Immigrant? Gendered class subjects in Philippine–Canada migration

Abstract

Drawing upon transnational multi-sited research analysing sending and receiving aspects of migration flows and the shifting priorities of neoliberal citizenship regimes, this article highlights the class complexity of Philippine gendered migration pathways to Canada. Migrant agency and class complexity are linked to neoliberal immigration and labour export policies that privilege the acquisition of capital serving the interests of sending and receiving countries. Sometimes this benefits elite migrants but it also exacerbates gendered class cleavages between migrants and within Philippine society. The histories of Philippine internal and overseas migration have contributed to a culture of migration whereby Filipinos exhibit flexibility to draw advantage from subtle shifts in Canadian immigration policy. The paper concludes that Filipinos may well represent the ideal immigrant but there are personal, social, and political consequences for migrants and the nation.

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