Theorizing Local Migration Law and Governance

Explores how analyses of legal processes can inform the theorization of the role of local governments in migration governance.

Moritz Baumgärtel (Edited by), Sara Miellet (Edited by)

9781316517840, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 September 2022

300 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.5 cm, 0.68 kg

'This ground-breaking work provides the much-needed theoretical reflection on the role of the law in one of the key contemporary trends in migration governance: the rise of local authorities. Well-researched, well-written and truly thought-provoking, it is a must-read for all who work in this field – scholars and practitioners alike.' Barbara M. Oomen, Utrecht University

In many regions around the world, the governance of migration increasingly involves local authorities and actors. This edited volume introduces theoretical contributions that, departing from the 'local turn' in migration studies, highlight the distinct role that legal processes, debates, and instruments play in driving this development. Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies, it demonstrates how paying closer analytical attention to legal questions reveals the inherent tensions and contradictions of migration governance. By investigating socio-legal phenomena such as sanctuary jurisdictions, it further explores how the law structures ongoing processes of (re)scaling in this domain. Beyond offering conceptual and empirical discussions of local migration governance, this volume also directly confronts the pressing normative questions that follow from the growing involvement of local authorities and actors. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

1. Crimmigration and crossover youth: The deportation of former wards of the state Benjamin Perryman
2. From control to deterrence: Assessing the legal consciousness of border enforcement in South Africa (2002-2019) Jeff Handmaker, Caroline Nalule
3. Welcome culture or symbolic politics? Berlin's strategies of divergence in immigration policy Moritz Baumgärtel and Franziska Pett
4. Sanctuary, security, and scale Graham Hudson
5. Law and values: 'Sanctuary Cities' in the United States Christopher N. Lasch, finalized by Elizabeth Stovall
6. Nationality, citizenship law, and questions of scale: colonial and postcolonial considerations Graham Hudson
7. Sanctuary city, solidarity city, inclusive city (yet to come): Living invisibly in Toronto in times of the covid-19 pandemic Luisa Sotomayor and Liette Gilbert
8. National identity, post-modernity, and the structure of immigration Control Daniel I. Morales
9. The globalisation of community sponsorship of refugees and local governance: towards protection principles Nikolas Feith Tan
10. Conclusion Mariana Valverde.

Subject Areas: Immigration law [LNDA1], Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Migration, immigration & emigration [JFFN], National liberation & independence, post-colonialism [HBTR]