The (un)deserving migrant?

Interrogating non-conventional bordering practices in the European space

In the context of growing anti-immigration sentiment across the EU, deeper understandings of the emerging bordering practices beyond the traditional areas of migration control are needed. Yet, these questions remain underresearched. Social agents in the fields of health, social policy, education or labour market integration have become implicated in regulating immigrants’ stay once they have arrived in their host country. Based on their ideas about the legitimacy of migrants settling outside of their home country, they can (dis)enable certain migrant groups to meaningfully participate in their host society.

This workshop explores the continuum of internal bordering within the European context. Presenters will discuss processes of inclusion and exclusion migrants are subjected to within cities, regions and national polities of the EU. We bring together a focus on bordering practices and a critical examination of the figure of the (un)deserving migrant. Thematic sessions aim to gain comparative insights into internal bordering practices across a range of social policy fields, going beyond the classical approaches to migration governance as regulating entry and residency. Contributions focus on the latent and manifest bordering practices in education, health, social security, and labour market policy. The research project allows for thinking the broader hierarchies that define belonging within European societies.

The organisation of this conference is supported by the Collège d’études mondiales, Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme in the framework of the research project “The (un)deserving migrant? Interrogating nonconventional bordering practices in the European space”. The programme was established as a result of a call for papers that triggered significant interest across countries and disciplines, testifying to the timeliness of the research issues raised.

• Download the full program (PDF)

Monday, September 2^nd

10:00 Introduction
| Laëtitia Atlani-Duault, Director, Collège d’études mondiales
| Thomas Huet, Scientific coordinator, Collège d’études mondiales

10:30 Social inclusion
Disaggregated (De-)Bordering Practices in the European Migration Regime
| Tobias Eule, University of Bern

Discreet concern and disposable confidentiality. Policing migrant deservingness at the level of ordinary interactions in Paris and Helsinki
| Linda Haapajärvi, Centre Maurice Halbwachs, Institut Convergences Migrations

Break

1:30 Access to housing

Deserving of domination? Regulation of state-funded shelters for rejected asylum seekers with minor children in the Netherlands
| Lieneke Slingenberg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Rewarding behaviour and the right to asylum
| Paolo Novak, SOAS, University of London

Break

3:30 Access to unemployment benefits and the labour market
Migration and selection in German welfare administration: Accessing basic social security and labour market integration services
| Nora Ratzmann, London School of Economics

Deserving the right to work? Immigration officials and irregular migrants’ work permit in Germany
| Caroline Schultz, University of Bamberg

Leaving your past behind. The making of the well-behaved migrant in Swedish labour market interventions
| Ellen Parsland, Lund university

17:45 First round of discussion around emerging themes

Tuesday, September 3rd

9:00 Access to Health Care
Sick and Precarious Migrants in French public hospitals. Asymmetrical Negotiation in Migration Biopolitical Regime
| Jérémy Geeraert, Centre Marc Bloch (Berlin) and the Institute for interdisciplinary research (University Paris 13)

Fight or Flight? Selective Service Provision and ‘Mediated’ Deservingness
| Katerina Glyniadaki, London School of Economics

The figure of the undocumented pregnant women in Mayotte: bordering practices and contested constructions of deservingness in maternity care provision.
| Nina Sahraoui, European University Institute, Collège d'études mondiales, FMSH

Break

11:30 Access to Higher Education
Forced Migrants in Higher Education: ‘Sanctuary Scholarships’ in a Hostile Environment
| Harriet Gray, University of Liverpool
| Rebecca Murray, University of Exeter

Channelling of refugee students into German higher education
| Stefanie Schröder & Jana Berg, German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies.

Break

2:00 Discussion about common themes and publication format

Workshop convened by Nora Ratzmann, London School of Economics et Nina Sahraoui, European University Institute, Collège d'études mondiales, FMSH