“I am not moving life, but life moves me.” Experiences of intra-EU (im)mobility among West African migrants

Constrained to be (im)mobile? Refugees' and Asylum seekers' practices to integrate in restrictive socio-economic urban contexts in Northern Italy

“…As shown in previous research (Wajsberg, 2020 ), the importance of staying put in one place while waiting to receive legal status was recognized by well-informed migrants, who were able to receive information about the factors determining the success of their application. In other words, mobility can contribute to the reduction of one's chance of holding legal status, thus indicating the negative side of transnationalism that has usually been connected to agentic dimensions (Dimitriadis et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Looking now at the different types of mobility and immobility among RAS, this article elaborates on the discussion about the connection between (im)mobility and agency. While previous studies that adopted the "mobility regimes" approach challenged the linear relation between immobility and downward social mobility (Kalir, 2013;Wajsberg, 2020;Sanò and Della Puppa, 2021), this article advances the discussion on the meaning of (im)mobility in terms of agency by calling attention to the voluntary or involuntary nature of (im)mobility practices. On the one hand, the mobility practices of RAS in the host society often seem to be enforced by structural dynamics such as restrictive migration policies.…”

“…Internal (temporary or seasonal) mobility may be due to the lack of employment in the place of residence, thus implying search for and access to informal jobs characterized by exploitative labor conditions (Cottino, 2021 ; Anderlini, 2022 ). Similarly, (periods of) immobility can indicate agency when people decide to stay in the same place to gain legal status (Wajsberg, 2020 ) or upward social mobility when refugees can maintain stable cross-seasonal work in the place of residence (Cottino, 2021 ).…”