Complex precarity: towards a reconceptualisation of irregular migration as a reality and a policy category
by Shiva S. Mohan; Anna Triandafyllidou
International Journal of Migration and Border Studies (IJMBS), Vol. 8, No. 3/4, 2024

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between broader economic immigration policy frameworks, legal statuses and related terminologies, and the systemic production of (ir)regularity and ultimately precarity among migrants. We begin with a critical review of irregularity and how it is (re)produced between conditions of entry and stay, changing policy requirements and pathways into and out of irregular status. We then take two contrasted cases, Canada and Spain, to illustrate how their diametrically opposed economic immigration management regimes (Canada's highly regulated, proactive approach; Spain's deregulated, retroactive policy) produce similar forms of irregularised, semi-legal and precarious status for migrants. From these reflections, we propose a multi-dimensional perspective on the concept of precarity that includes social, legal and economic aspects, arguing that precarity offers a better analytical palette for understanding irregularity in migration today. Finally, we offer thoughts about the implications of complex precarity for irregular migration realities in European and North American contexts.

Online publication date: Tue, 01-Apr-2025

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