Across Europe, an increasing number of cities have developed strategies to support migrants who are deemed ineligible for social benefits by national policies and thereby effectively deprived of basic social rights. A paper that has just been published in the Journal of Migration Studies, opens an external URL in a new window, introduces the concept of ›migrants with precarious legal status‹ to capture their common focal point: the support of persons who lack, or are vulnerable to the loss of, their legal status. It reviews existing research on vertical and horizontal networks and governance arrangements that has tried to grasp municipal strategies toward migrants with precarious legal status. It also proposes to complement these approaches through a perspective that focuses on negotiations over precarity within municipalities and reflects on the different and at times conflicting approaches of the various service providers toward migrants with precarious legal status within a municipal authority. By tying together these concepts, it argues for a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the different interests and power dynamics at play when creating inclusive local practices for migrants with precarious legal status. The paper is followed by reflections on various migration scholars and a response to these reflections by the authors.

The paper is available for download, opens a file in a new window.

The Journal of Migration Studies is freely accessible as an open access journal and is published by the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) at the University of Osnabrück. You can download the journal on their website, opens an external URL in a new window.