Getting by in Europe's Urban Labour Markets : Senegambian Migrants' Strategies for Survival, Documentation and Mobility

Abstract

A m s t e r d a m U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s dissErtations imiscoe

Transnational activities and aspirations of irregular migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands

“…Consequently, when migrants find out that the society they encounter does not offer the unlimited opportunities they envisioned, their adaptation processes are automatically oriented downwardly. Many studies describe how dreams are broken and how irregular migrants have to deal with the difficult conditions they face (Adam et al 2002;Burgers and Engbersen 1999;Mahler 1995;Staring 1999;Van Nieuwenhuyze 2009). In doing so, scholars equate the adaptation process that irregular migrants go through with a process of learning 'how to survive' in these societies.…”

Irregular status, territorial confinement, and blocked transnationalism: legal constraints on circulation and remittances of Senegalese migrants in France, Italy, and Spain

“…This shows that Senegalese migrants' cross-border engagement is largely motivated by a desire to return to Senegal eventually. A logic of accumulation at origin may thus dominate a logic of integration at destination (Van Nieuwenhuyze, 2008); both of these logics, however, are potentially blocked by lack of secure legal status: migrants without "papers" are both directly blocked from transnational participation via legal exclusion from border crossing, and indirectly blocked by physical caging in the destination and the concomitant withering of social ties. Legal status is thus of key importance in keeping open the door to returns to the homeland.…”

“…A third mechanism could be related to the policy pressure exerted by governments on irregular migrants. Compared to migrants with irregular status in France and Spain, who face harsh deportation policies (Finotelli & Sciortino, 2009;Schain, 2008), irregular migrants in Spain have lived under a more tolerant policy regime where regularizations are common and even migrants in irregular status have access to health services, education, and public housing (Tandian & Bergh, 2014;Van Nieuwenhuyze, 2008). Senegalese in Spain face a lower risk of deportation than Senegalese in France and Italy, and may thus be less likely to engage in remitting as insurance policy against forced return (Pozo, 2005).…”

Foggy Social Structures : Irregular Migration, European Labour Markets and the Welfare State

“…The unknown cities of irregular immigrants also feature numerous actors from the overworld: legal compatriots, employers, clergymen, lawyers and public service workers, including police officers and mayors who turn a blind eye to or assist irregular immigrants. In addition to The Unknown City, several studies have been published since the 1990s to document secret societies of irregular immigrants in large European cities (Romaniszyn 1996;Bleahu 2007;Van Nieuwenhuyze 2008). All of these studies describe how the informal institutions of irregular immigrants are interwoven with legitimate institutions and actors.…”