Local Responses to Migrants with Precarious Legal Status: Negotiating Inclusive Practices in Cities Across Europe

Abstract

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. In contrast to such restrictive national policies, cities often provide access to certain key services, such as health care, housing, education, and legal aid, and ensure safe reporting of crime. This paper 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. Based on this concept, we review existing research on vertical and horizontal networks and governance arrangements that has tried to grasp municipal strategies toward migrants with precarious legal status. We propose to complement these approaches through a perspective that focuses on negotiations over precarity within municipalities and try to reveal 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, we argue 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.