The Urban Governance of Asylum as a “Battleground”: Policies of Exclusion and Efforts of Inclusion in Italian Towns

Abstract

The urban governance of asylum as a "battleground": policies of exclusion and efforts of inclusion in Italian towns Maurizio Ambrosini, university of Milan The governance of immigration has been increasingly discussed, especially in Europe, as a multilevel and multi-actor process in which diverse institutional and non-institutional subjects play a role (Scholten et al., 2018). In particular the efforts by national governments to achieve more control over migration flows involve local governments more directly than in the past (Guiraudon and Lahav 2000; Oomen and Lenders 2020). This trend encompasses a contradiction in which local policies in Europe have often been considered, at least in the last two decades, more open than national policies, more oriented towards a pragmatic reception of immigrants and to the admission to local services also of immigrants with legally dubious or irregular status. In the US, "sanctuary cities", such as New York or San Francisco, have resisted federal policies against unauthorized immigration. They have avoided raids and granted some social services also to immigrants without legal status (Oomen, Davis and Grigolo, 2016). In the UK, the "City of Sanctuary" movement was established in Sheffield in 2005, and in 2016 it had groups operating in more than 80 towns, cities and villages (Bauder, 2017). While sanctuary movements are also crucial sites for defending immigrants against the U.S. Federal government's policies and practices, studies in the U.S. (and in Canada as well) have identified local powers committed to combatting irregular immigration with greater determination than federal powers (Chand and Schreckhise, 2014; Varsanyi 2008; Gilbert 2009). In the EU, local policies of exclusion have not received much attention in the academic debate, whereas positive aspects of local policies have been more often studied (CLIP Network, 2010; Hillmann 2019; Penninx et al., 2004). An exception is the literature on border towns, camps and detention centres in which local authorities are often involved

Who help irregular migrants? Supporters of irregular migrants in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Turin (Italy)

“…In line with how scholars have interpreted humanitarianism as a 'politics of life' (Fassin, 2007;Sinatti, 2019), we have proposed to interpret politics as something that can be subtle, implicit, and found in the everyday. The fact that several states have illegalized these activities in various ways, and that anti-immigrant movements and political parties overtly attack providers of humanitarian help (Ambrosini, 2020), indirectly confirms the political implications of simple acts of solidarity. We show, however, how help to irregular migrants can be seen on a scale between practical and political help, and argue how help contains a ratio of practical and political help.…”

Politicizing support and opposition to migration in France: the EU asylum policy crisis and direct social activism

“…This data enables disclosing how groups came to select specific forms of actions, but also how they enacted, appropriated and constructed meanings during mobilization (Doherty and Hayes 2018). The fieldwork lasted from December 2016 to March 2017 and targeted the multiple types of civil society actors that contribute to the practical governance of asylum, or migration 'battleground' (Ambrosini 2020). This includes activists engaged in anti-refugee initiatives and citizens engaged in the French refugee solidarity network.…”

Scalar Politics and Network Relations in the Governance of Highly Skilled Migration

“…For example, trade unions, religious groups, voluntary organizations, and professional organizations for lawyers, doctors, and journalists provide services to migrants, using volunteers and/or professional staff. These actors may cooperate with public authorities or circumvent national regulations by providing services to undocumented migrants (Ambrosini 2020). Another example of private sector involvement in migration governance concerns registered migration agents.…”