Sans papiers : the social and economic lives of young undocumented migrants / Alice Bloch, Nando Sigona and Roger Zetter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloch, Alice, 1964-

Contributor:

Sigona, Nando, 1975-

Zetter, Roger.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Noncitizens--Great Britain--Social conditions.

Noncitizens.

Great Britain.

Social conditions.

Noncitizens--Great Britain--Economic conditions.

Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

ix, 190 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Pluto Press ; New York : Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

Undocumented migration is a significant and much debated global phenomenon, yet little is known about the reality of life lives of those involved. This book combines theoretical and policy debates with an in-depth exploration of the lived experiences of undocumented migrants in the UK from Zimbabwe, China, Brazil, Ukraine and Turkish Kurdistan. Built around their voices, the book provides a unique understanding of migratory processes, gendered experiences and migrant aspirations, exploring the challenges and contradictions of being a young undocumented migrant. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Researching Everyday 'Illegality': An Introduction 1

The Scale of Undocumented Migration: Counting the Uncountable 4

Methods and Methodology 7

How the Book is Organised 12

2 Migration Dynamics, Irregular Migration and the Governance of 'Illegality' 15

Globalisation and Re-Bordering: Migrating Into Irregularity 15

Who is Undocumented? The Governance of Migration and the Vocabulary of Irregularity 22

Official Status and Categories: Policy and Practice in the UK 23

Status Mobility: Undocumentedness as a Process 25

A Constructed and Criminalised Identity 27

Conclusion 31

3 Migrant Agency, Youth and Legal Status 32

Immigration Status and Everyday Lives 32

Migration and Youth 35

Migration, Destinations and Youth 35

Integration and Identity 36

Migrant Agency 39

Agency in Migration Decision-Making 40

Migrant Agency in Destination Countries 43

Conclusion 45

4 Visibility and Invisibility: Arrival, Settlement and Socialisation into Irregularity 46

Confronting the Reality 47

Undocumentedness in Everyday Life: Encounters and Consequences 56

Accommodation 57

Education 60

Health Care 62

Finance 65

Sexual Exploitation 67

Coping in the Public Realm: Mobility and Communication 68

Conclusion 72

5 Legal Status and the Labour Market 74

Situating Experiences of Employment 74

The Wider Economic Context 74

Precariousness: The Case of Undocumented Migrants 76

Migrant Agency 77

Employment: An Overview of Labour-Market Experiences 79

Finding Employment: Social Networks, Agencies, 'Middle-Men' and Paying for fobs 88

Employment and Individual Agency 93

Managing Without Work 95

Conclusion 98

6 Fragile Communities: Social Networks and Geographies of Undocumentedness 99

'Here in England, You Need Other People': Family, Friends and Acquaintances 100

Language and Time 105

Negotiating the Boundaries of the Community of Trust and Reciprocity 108

Social Activities and Where People Socialise 112

Remittances and Undocumented Migrants' Transnationalism 119

Conclusion 124

7 Intersecting Youth and Legal Status 126

Myself as a Young Person 126

Youth as a Driver of Migration 128

Youth and the Risk of 'Illegality' 133

Being Young and Undocumented in Britain 137

No Right to Dream 141

Making (And Not Making) Plans for the Future 141

Was it Worthwhile? 144

Conclusion 149

8 Conclusion

Current Policy and Political Climates 151

Looking Forward or Looking Back? The Immigration Bill 156

Rights, Segregation and Marginalisation 161

Concluding Reflections 166.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [168]-185) and index.

ISBN:

9780745332611

0745332617

0745333907

9780745333908

OCLC:

881705077