Undocumented Migration, social movements and public policy

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Marco Martiniello

Substitute(s)

Thomas Swerts

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Undocumented migration has become a top priority on the political agendas of many Western governments. Media frequently report on the large numbers of "illegal" immigrants that cross the border or overstay their visas without state authorization. Meanwhile, politicians on all sides of the political spectrum raise warning signs about the "flood" of "illegal aliens" and the threats it might pose to the social cohesion and welfare of Western societies. Governments have accordingly attempted to control irregular migration flows through measures like deportation, border enforcement and "one-shot" regularization. What is remarkably missing in mainstream media and politicians¿ discourses on irregular migration, is the stories of undocumented migrants. Nevertheless, over the last few decades, there has been a significant rise in forms of undocumented activism whereby migrants contest their exclusion from citizenship and voice their demands for a more inclusive migration politics.
This raises the following questions: Can states control undocumented migration? How do they decide to let some migrants in and keep others out? Which governance techniques have states designed to do so? How do these policies affect targeted migrant communities? How do migrants become ¿illegal¿? How do undocumented migrants gain a political voice? Which means do they have at their disposal to mobilize public support for their demands? And what are the challenges that undocumented migrants face in the current political climate?
This course aims to tackle these questions by providing students with the necessary analytical tools and theoretical frameworks to make sense of undocumented migration as a social phenomenon. More in particular, we will pay attention to the role that the state and social movement actors play in shaping irregular migration politics.

• On the one hand, we will investigate the public policies whereby undocumented migrants are governed. This will include a critical examination of the historical construction of the category of the "illegal" immigrant, an evaluation of regularization programs, and an analysis of bordering and deportation practices.

• On the other hand, we will study how social movements like the immigrant rights movement, the DREAM movement, the No Border Network, NO One Is Illegal and the sans-papiers movement contest these ways of governing. In this context, topics of investigation will include the claims-making practices of the undocumented, the forms of political expression that they develop in their host societies and the alliances they build with other civil society actors.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Students will be pushed to critically question their presumptions about undocumented migrants and form an empirically grounded and informed understanding of irregular migration policies and their contestations. Throughout the class, students should be capable to work independently, initiate research and theoretically interpret a case study of undocumented migration politics in a particular country or region.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

A good level of English is required.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

The instructor of the class will organize two lectures at the beginning of the semester (Lecture 1 Wednesday February 7; Lecture 2 Wednesday February 14) that will respectively introduce and situate the topic of irregular migration in the 21st century, provide a thorough overview of existing research on immigrant rights policies and movements and explain the final paper assignment.
Students will be provided with a reading list that can guide their self-study for the rest of the semester in light of the final research paper assignment. In the meanwhile, assistance for the reading and papers will be provided from distance (via e-mail and Skype) by the instructor or face-to-face during office hours (by appointment).
Halfway the semester, students will submit their final paper proposals to the instructor for feedback. During the final session, students will be asked to present their papers for the rest of the class.

Recommended or required readings

All readings and other materials will be made available electronically via MyULg.
There are no required readings for this class. Instead, a reading list will be distributed in the beginning of the semester with suggested readings per topic. Questions can be provided by the instructor at request to guide the reading. For the final paper, students will have to draw on these readings to frame and situate their research contribution.
 

Assessment methods and criteria

• The final research paper accounts for [U]80% of the final grade[/U]. The paper needs to focus either on a social movement and/or public policy around undocumented migration in a specific country or region. The topic of the paper needs to be consulted with and approved by the instructor beforehand.
  
• The final paper presentation accounts for [U]20% of the final grade[/U]. Final papers are presented in class during the last session of the semester.
  Late submissions on the final paper will result in reduced marks.
  

Work placement(s)

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Organizational remarks

The introductory lectures and the final session will take place on Wednesdays from 4PM until 6PM. The room will be announced later. Thank you for following the directions on My ULg.

Contacts

• Thomas Swerts  thomas.swerts@uantwerpen.be
  Assistant Professor in Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam / Research Fellow, University of Antwerp
  
• Marco Martiniello - M.martiniello@ulg.ac.be 
  Directeur de recherches du FRS-FNRS