Abstract
This article discusses integration policy for immigrants in Germany from the standpoint of “security,” a concept that includes both public and social security. In recent integration policy, criteria for national membership have not been based on valuing ethnic homogeneity but rather on liberal democratic principles, such as democracy, the principle of the legal state, equality between men and women, and the separation of church and state. In addition, integration can only be achieved when immigrants obey the socioeconomic principles of self-governance. These principles apply to the whole population, regardless of national origin. However, as economic and ontological insecurity increase in an age characterized by liquid or late modernity, public authorities have formulated integration policy based on the securitization of migration. As they reform the welfare state, public authorities have tried to exclude immigrants that lack the capability for self-governance, staking a position of zero tolerance against immigrants involved in terrorism. The knowledge, information, and practices of security professionals, such as public security services and the police, play a significant role in the securitization of migration. In accordance with the roles played by public security professionals, immigrants are not only criticized for their lack of moral obligations, but are also controlled as the target population of public security. Thus, German integration policy may be prone to leading to the exclusion of immigrants rather than to their integration.
