Migration Control in Practice: The Logics and Impact of Implementation in Migration Policies

Abstract

Speakers: Federica Infantino, University Côte d’Azur Djordje Sredanovic, University of Chester Andrew Crosby, Brussels School of Governance Starting from the recent collective book Migration Control in Practice (Éditions de l’Université de Bruxelles), three of the authors of the book will discuss the importance of the everyday implementation of different migration policies. Working within and beyond the street level bureaucracy approach, the webinar will show how migration policies are transformed by the everyday implementation by migration officers. Such implementation can be understood as a relatively autonomous moment, influenced by policy logics developed in the field, organisational constraints, professional norms, as well as the continued influence of juridical, elected and civil society actors. The discussion will use the wide range of policies covered in the book – visas, asylum, border control, family-based residence, access to healthcare, citizenship, migrant detention, and expulsions – to trace the impact of implementation across a hypothetical migratory career. The webinar will discuss the aspects of migration control that remain in the shadows in analyses limited to the law in the books, and the need to develop an understanding of the logics, workings and tensions of everyday bureaucratic practices.