The Effect of Anti-Discrimination Policies on Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in 24 European Countries

In light of the new wave of immigrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe, this article investigates some of the challenges of the previous phases of immigration of MENA immigrants in order to propose how best to address the needs of the new one. In particular, this article looks at the relationship between different types of anti-discrimination policy and the levels of perceived discrimination among first- and second-generation MENA immigrants to Europe. This research uses hierarchical models to integrate data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Findings show that enforcement mechanisms are most efficient in reducing feelings of discrimination among veteran and second-generation MENA immigrants, while broad and well defined anti-discrimination policies are highly effective among newcomers.