Rethinking Migration Success: Family Resilience as an Overlooked Dimension of Immigration Policies

Abstract

This article examines the economic paradigm underpinning contemporary immigration policies and proposes a broader understanding of migration success through the lens of family resilience. While dominant approaches emphasize labour market outcomes, income and human capital, they pay limited attention to the relational and psychosocial processes shaping long-term integration. Building on a critical synthesis of migration, family and[1] resilience scholarship, the article develops an integrated conceptual model in which family resilience mediates the relationship between structural conditions, social resources and migration outcomes. The analysis argues that family resilience enhances migrants’ capacity to transform available resources into sustainable integration trajectories. It further shows that migration success is a multidimensional and dynamic process rather than a purely economic achievement. By positioning family systems at the centre of migration analysis, the article advances a broader framework for understanding immigrant integration and highlights the need for policy evaluations that incorporate family stability and psychosocial well-being.