Immigrant Advocacy in the EU – A Matter of Faith?

Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999, the governance of immigration and of immigrants’ rights has become increasingly supranationalized, constituting the EU as an important arena for transnational pro-migrant advocacy. At the same time, in the last two decades, immigration and religion have become strongly intertwined, both in media discourse and in policy-making. In fact, several studies have shown that the politicization of religion in connection to immigration is leading to increased cooperation between political actors and religious organizations, which often act as representatives of immigrants. Nevertheless, this research has so far concentrated on the national and local levels, so that the aspects related to transnational governance have remained neglected. Against this background, this paper turns to the EU level and inquires into the participation of religious organizations in supranational policy-making. It combines an actor-centered approach with an interest on the content, the form and the aims of supranational faith-based interest representation. It is particularly interested in the extent to which religion can be used as a symbolic resource for transnational political activism. The paper is based on qualitative interviews with representatives of European institutions and religious organizations, as well as analysis of primary documents such as public consultation files and position papers produced by religious organizations. It shows that, in contrast to the national and local levels where cooperation with Islamic actors is on the rise, the supranational level is characterized by the dominance of Christian faith-based organizations, who utilize their expertise and influence to act as immigrants’ advocates rather than as immigrant representatives. Moreover, whereas faith works as a motivation for EU-level religious activists and as a symbolic resource for their organizations, the contents of their claims are largely secular and do not seek to privilege specific religious communities or worldviews.