Integration and recognition of cultural identity of the immigrants : a liberal approach to citizenship policy

Political aggression, social anomalies, and religious antagonism due to major-minor cultural differences in western democratic countries are the most controversial issues of recent time, which is closely related to the dispute of open and closed borders. Western immigration policies and nationalistic approaches are proceeded to marginalize immigrant’s own inherited cultural identity either by forceful assigning of host country’s major cultural practices or by excluding them due to their non-national cultural identity, which causes unfair discriminations and sufferings to them. However, this paper particularly focuses on the liberal ideas of John Rawls and Will Kymlicka to justify immigrant’s cultural identity for sustaining in liberal multicultural states. The fact logically deduced from the assessment is that liberal principles of justice necessitate the acknowledgment of cultural identity of the migrated people since disregarding immigrant’s cultural identity affects their autonomy and other kinds of fundamental social and political rights, and therefore, apposite accommodation of cultural identity of the immigrants is required for the equality and social harmony.