Periodic Reporting for period 1 - I-CLAIM (Improving the living and labour conditions of irregularised migrant households in Europe)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-04-01 al 2024-06-30
I-CLAIM aims to investigate the living and working conditions of irregular migrants in six European countries (Finland, Poland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom). Its goal is to uncover the spectrum and drivers of migrants’ irregular status, as well as the impact it has on migrant families, through an intersectional and intergenerational lens. The project combines the need to generate critical knowledge of the phenomenon with the urgency to propose policy measures to improve the lives of undocumented migrant households in Europe. Notably, it introduces the concept of “irregularity assemblages” to capture how irregularity is produced by the interplay of immigration and asylum laws, policies, and practice; broader labour market and welfare regimes; and dominant public narratives and perceptions.
This understanding underpins the co-design, assessment, and validation of policy options and public interventions that target place-specific, sectoral, and intersectional criticalities and vulnerabilities experienced by a range of people with uncertain or no legal status in Europe. The project achieves its overarching ambition to inform public and political debates on migration by engaging with relevant European, national, local, and sectoral actors at all stages of the research process. These include labour unions and migrant rights organizations in the six countries. Methodologically, the project applies policy and discourse analysis of the legal and narrative frameworks that produce a complex infrastructure of irregularity in Europe. It also employs surveys, including survey experiments to capture public perceptions of irregularity and ethnographies of labour market sectors with high numbers of undocumented migrants and varying degrees of platformization (agri-food, care and domestic work, and logistics and delivery). The project also utilizes collaborative, multimodal, and art-based research methods.
The I-CLAIM project consists of four closely linked research streams (Work Package 3-6) that make up the “irregularity assemblage”. The first research stream (WP3) examines the politics of irregularity at the intersection of immigration, labour, and welfare regimes and how it has been affected by recent geopolitical events such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The second stream (WP4) analyses political, media, and public narratives and counter-narratives on irregular migrants and irregular migration. It also offers unique insights into how the public perceives the phenomenon. The third research stream (WP5) uses in-depth qualitative and ethnographic methods to focus on key labour sectors where people with irregular or precarious immigration status are employed (agrifood, care and domestic work, and logistics and delivery). It explores how these sectors operate, migrants’ experiences of mobility (social and geographical) within and across sectors, and the tactics used by irregular migrant workers to challenge labour exploitation. The fourth research stream (WP6) brings together the different dimensions and scales of the analysis, comparatively examining critical sectors of the labour market, processes of racialization and how they intersect with the “irregular condition”, and the gendered, intergenerational impact of irregularity on migrant households. Throughout the project, I-CLAIM establishes and sustains dialogue with relevant policymakers, civil society actors, trade unions, and migrants’ rights organizations around ideas, lessons, and actions to improve the conditions of undocumented migrants in Europe (WP7).
This understanding underpins the co-design, assessment, and validation of policy options and public interventions that target place-specific, sectoral, and intersectional criticalities and vulnerabilities experienced by a range of people with uncertain or no legal status in Europe. The project achieves its overarching ambition to inform public and political debates on migration by engaging with relevant European, national, local, and sectoral actors at all stages of the research process. These include labour unions and migrant rights organizations in the six countries. Methodologically, the project applies policy and discourse analysis of the legal and narrative frameworks that produce a complex infrastructure of irregularity in Europe. It also employs surveys, including survey experiments to capture public perceptions of irregularity and ethnographies of labour market sectors with high numbers of undocumented migrants and varying degrees of platformization (agri-food, care and domestic work, and logistics and delivery). The project also utilizes collaborative, multimodal, and art-based research methods.
The I-CLAIM project consists of four closely linked research streams (Work Package 3-6) that make up the “irregularity assemblage”. The first research stream (WP3) examines the politics of irregularity at the intersection of immigration, labour, and welfare regimes and how it has been affected by recent geopolitical events such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The second stream (WP4) analyses political, media, and public narratives and counter-narratives on irregular migrants and irregular migration. It also offers unique insights into how the public perceives the phenomenon. The third research stream (WP5) uses in-depth qualitative and ethnographic methods to focus on key labour sectors where people with irregular or precarious immigration status are employed (agrifood, care and domestic work, and logistics and delivery). It explores how these sectors operate, migrants’ experiences of mobility (social and geographical) within and across sectors, and the tactics used by irregular migrant workers to challenge labour exploitation. The fourth research stream (WP6) brings together the different dimensions and scales of the analysis, comparatively examining critical sectors of the labour market, processes of racialization and how they intersect with the “irregular condition”, and the gendered, intergenerational impact of irregularity on migrant households. Throughout the project, I-CLAIM establishes and sustains dialogue with relevant policymakers, civil society actors, trade unions, and migrants’ rights organizations around ideas, lessons, and actions to improve the conditions of undocumented migrants in Europe (WP7).
During the first Reporting Period (01.04.2023-30.06.2024) the project was officially launched, beginning with an online kick-off meeting followed by an in-person gathering in Warsaw. Key milestones included the release of the I-CLAIM promotional video, the launch of the project website, and the establishment of social media presence on X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. WP3, which explores the politics of irregularity in the context of immigration, was successfully completed, culminating in the publication of six Country Reports and a Comparative Report all available on the I-CLAIM website. Next to six country reports a European report is also written. This report is currently under review for publication in the Springer Briefs in Law book series and therefore not published online yet.
As part of our engagement strategy, we established both Country and European Stakeholder Groups, and held the first meetings for these groups between October 2023 and January 2024. WP4, which analyzes political, media, and public narratives—and counter-narratives—regarding irregular migrants and migration, is well underway, with Country Reports expected to be ready in December 2024. Additionally, a survey with the general public on perceptions of irregular migration and irregular migrants related to WP4 is set to launch this autumn (n=1000 in all six countries under study). WP5’s ethnographic research is ramping up, with fieldwork starting in September in all I-CLAIM countries. June 2024 marked the release of our first policy brief and recommendations, with further promotion and engagement activities scheduled for the autumn.
As part of our engagement strategy, we established both Country and European Stakeholder Groups, and held the first meetings for these groups between October 2023 and January 2024. WP4, which analyzes political, media, and public narratives—and counter-narratives—regarding irregular migrants and migration, is well underway, with Country Reports expected to be ready in December 2024. Additionally, a survey with the general public on perceptions of irregular migration and irregular migrants related to WP4 is set to launch this autumn (n=1000 in all six countries under study). WP5’s ethnographic research is ramping up, with fieldwork starting in September in all I-CLAIM countries. June 2024 marked the release of our first policy brief and recommendations, with further promotion and engagement activities scheduled for the autumn.
This section will be updated accordingly once more data is gathered.