Abstract
Collective self-determination is considered to be an important political value. Many liberal political
philosophers appeal to it to defend the right of states to exclude would-be newcomers. In this paper, I
challenge the value of collective self-determination in the case of countries like the US, former colonial
powers with a history of white supremacist immigration and citizenship policies. I argue for my claim by
way of an analogy: There is no value to white neighborhoods in the US, which are the result of racist
attitudes and state policies, determining autonomously who should become a neighbor. In light of this
commitment, defenders of the US's right to exclude would need to explain why it should be of moral
value that a community whose character and composition has been shaped by white supremacy be able
to determine its membership on its own terms.