Work from the perspective of institutional analysis begins with the aggregate economic and net fiscal gain premises, but relaxes the assumption of a unitary state and introduces sub-state institutions. The main question posed in this analysis is whether various sub-state institutions pursue the same or dissimilar goals with respect to immigration and how their interaction may affect policy outcomes. The range of institutional variables is large. We concentrate here on three: (1) intra-state negotiations and competition among the executive, legislative and judicial components of states, (2) varieties of political economy across states, and (3) the roles of political parties and party systems in aggregating and expressing societal interests.