Overview

Whether motivated by humanitarianism or concern over ""porous"" borders, dominant commentary on migration in Europe has consistently focused on clandestine border crossings. Much less, however, is known about the everyday workings of immigration law inside borders. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in Italy, one of Europe's biggest receiving countries, Rules, Paper, Status moves away from polarized depictions to reveal how migration processes actually play out on the ground. Anna Tuckett highlights the complex processes of inclusion and exclusion produced through encounters with immigration law. The statuses of ""legal"" or ""illegal,"" which media and political accounts use as synonyms for ""good"" and ""bad,"" ""worthy"" and ""unworthy,"" are not created by practices of border-crossing, but rather through legal and bureaucratic processes within borders devised by governing states. Taking migrants' interactions with immigration regimes as its starting point, this book sheds light on the productive nature of legal and bureaucratic encounters and the unintended consequences they produce. Rules, Paper, Status argues that successfully navigating Italian immigration bureaucracy, which is situated in an immigration regime that is both exclusionary and flexible, requires and induces culturally specific modes of behavior. Exclusionary laws, however, can transform this social and cultural learning into the very thing that endangers migrants' right to live in the country.

Full Product Details

Author:   Anna Tuckett
Publisher:   Stanford University Press
Imprint:   Stanford University Press
ISBN:  

9781503605404

ISBN 10:   150360540
Pages:   192
Publication Date:   26 June 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Contents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThis chapter examines the historical trajectory of Italian immigration law and the political and economic context from which it emerges. In general migrants have not been welcomed into Italian society, but low birth rates and a high aging population make their presence crucial. Italian immigration law, which is a curious mixture between harsh and exclusionary policies and frequent large-scale legalizations, embodies this ambiguous attitude towards migrants. This chapter argues that equal attention must be given to processes relating to ""legalization"" as to those relating to ""illegalization"" when considering migrants' experiences of ""legal"" and ""illegal"" statuses. While other studies on experiences of immigration law tend to focus on migrants' experiences of uncertainty, this focus on the bureaucratic and documentary practices of immigration provides insights on alternative affective dimensions of immigration law and its material artefacts. 1The Center chapter abstractThis chapter introduces the book's central fieldsite: a trade union affiliated migrant advice center which provides support and assistance to migrants in their completion of application forms, as well as navigation of the immigration bureaucracy more generally. Trade unions have a central function in the Italian welfare state, and the center's role in completing migrants' application forms is closely connected to this. Although affiliated to the trade union, in the eyes of its visitors, and in practice, the center's role is often blurred with that of the Questura (Immigration Office) and the state in general. Because the center acts as a mediator between migrants and the Questura, the assistance which clients received could determine application outcomes. Not all staff members were equally able or interested in migration matters, however, and the quality of assistance they provided was highly variable. 2Working the Gap: Migrants' Navigation of Immigration Bureaucracy chapter abstractThrough gripping case studies, this chapter illustrates how everyday experiences with Italian immigration bureaucracy are characterized by uncertainty, arbitrariness, and frustration. By closely examining migrants' bureaucratic encounters, however, the chapter reveals that the bureaucracy's arbitrary and uncertain nature also makes it flexible and relatively easy to manipulate. By engaging in effective strategies of navigation, migrants are able to manipulate the law's loopholes and aid the acceptance of applications. Tracing migrants' strategies, this chapter argues that ""formal"" and ""informal"" spheres are interdependent and symbiotic: migrants, brokers, advisers, and officials all must engage in ""informal"" and extra-legal practices in order to successfully navigate the immigration bureaucracy. 3The Rules of Rule-Bending chapter abstractThis chapter argues that rule bending is revealing of broader attitudes to the state and bureaucracy in Italy which, through their bureaucratic encounters, migrants also come to hold. Bureaucratic engagements are thus forms of citizen-making. Socially acceptable rule-breaking, however, is accompanied by strict compliance with proceduralism in relation to paperwork. Successfully navigating the immigration bureaucracy requires expertise in the management of documents: paper trails must seem authentic even if false. Yet, given the documented nature of migrants' lives, rule-bending in one application can potentially create problems in others, meaning that even skillful rule-bending can result in high risks for migrants, such as the loss of legal status or foreclosing the attainment of citizenship. There thus exists a mismatch between a migrant's social knowledge – which is required to navigate the bureaucracy – and exclusionary citizenship laws that make this embeddedness precarious. 4Becoming an Immigration Adviser: Self-Fashioning through Bureaucratic Practice chapter abstractThis chapter focuses on the role of community brokers – informal immigration advisers with migrant backgrounds – and shows how they style themselves as bureaucratic experts. Doing so enables these brokers to develop new subjectivities and fashion themselves in affective terms. Becoming advisers enables them a degree of professionalism, helps them gain standing in their community, satisfies charitable impulses, and places them center stage in the fight for social justice. Crucially, the role of a community broker offers possibilities for gaining social status that are generally not otherwise available to migrants in Italy. 5Disjuncture in the Documentation Regime: The Second Generation's Challenge to Citizenship Law chapter abstractReflecting on the second generation's experiences of immigration bureaucracy, this chapter considers the contradictory and divergent affects of immigration law encounters. If dealings with the immigration bureaucracy produce opportunities for first-generation migrants and their advisers, for the second-generation they create upset and disjuncture. This generation is the most vulnerable group in terms of immigration policies as its members may suddenly find themselves as ""undocumented immigrants"" after turning 18, due to Italy's jus sanguinis nationality policy. Their sense of ease and integration in Italian society make them strangers to the immigration bureaucracy which – due to restrictive immigration and citizenship laws – they are nonetheless subject. The disjuncture made apparent through the second generation's subjection to immigration law highlights the profound injustices and inequalities that such laws create for all migrants. 6Stepping-Stone Destinations: Migration and Disappointment chapter abstractThis chapter explores migrants' feelings of disappointment about their migration trajectory in Italy and their desire to leave the country. The disappointment of those who aspire to migrate but ultimately never leave their homelands has been extensively discussed in migration studies literature. The chapter places the focus on those who have migrated but who still feel as though they have failed due to their lack of onward mobility from Italy. Focusing on the feelings of disappointment and personal failure experienced by those who have already migrated, it highlights the differentiated inclusion of migrants into the global marketplace. The desire to leave Italy, whether imagined or acted upon, shows how the mobility enabled by neoliberal globalization reproduces hierarchies within the EU. By viewing Italy as a mere stepping stone in a longer trajectory, migrants – both those who leave and those who remain – conceptualize the country as an inferior destination. Conclusion: chapter abstractDrawing the preceding chapters together, this conclusion argues that the ""border spectacle"" (De Genova 2002) produces a lopsided view of migration by obscuring how immigration policies relate to broader political and economic processes of contemporary migration and globalization. Situating migrants' navigation of the documentation regime in relation to these process, the chapter argues that migrants' maneuvering provides them with only meagre benefits, while employers, lawyers, policy makers, and other stakeholders within the immigration nexus reap the rewards. The final section of the conclusion reflects on what policies could improve the current situation in light of the problems identified."

Reviews

This compelling book transports the reader into the maze of immigration law enforcement in Italy. A must-read for immigration scholars and anyone interested in the day-to-day workings of street-level bureaucrats and the myriad ways they make law and in the process, transform immigrants into 'cultural citizens.' --Kitty Calavita University of California, Irvine

Rules, Paper, Status is a timely and relevant contribution to understanding the workings of the state beyond discourses of border enforcement....[it] speaks to a broader readership, including academics and state officials, and contributes to contemporary discussions on studying the 'state' at street level. -- Lisa Marie Borelli * <i>Anthropology in Action</i> * [Tuckett's] findings show that, paradoxically, even while migrants develop cultural skills in navigating bureaucratic norms, these abilities do not challenge the larger exclusionary views and practices of the Italian state and society....Tuckett's clear, concise writing makes this book an excellent gateway to a critical topic treated with analytical rigor....Highly recommended. -- A.H. Fabos * <i>CHOICE</i> * Rules, Papers, Status is a vivid journey into the workaday functioning of the Italian 'documentation regime'[It] poignantly depicts a country that seems unable to come to terms with its migrants. -- Tiziana Caponio * <i>International Migration Review</i> * Anna Tuckett's lively and engaging book sheds new light on the confused relationship between migrants and Italian state bureaucracy, and the gaps between formal law and 'practical stuff.' Rules, Paper, Status makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the bureaucratic and legal anomalies produced by the current 'moral panic' in Europe concerning immigration. -- Anthony Good * University of Edinburgh * By focusing on the sinewy and unstable ties between migrants and their legal status, [Tuckett] offers a rich analysis of legal and bureaucratic practices that shape migrants' economic and political opportunities as well as their social and cultural life in Italy.[Rules, Paper Status] provides a crucial contribution to theorizing about citizenship in European countries and the hegemonic discourse of integration. --Veronica Ferrari, Allegra This compelling book transports the reader into the maze of immigration law enforcement in Italy. A must-read for immigration scholars and anyone interested in the day-to-day workings of street-level bureaucrats and the myriad ways they make law and in the process, transform immigrants into 'cultural citizens.' -- Kitty Calavita * University of California, Irvine *

This compelling book transports the reader into the maze of immigration law enforcement in Italy. A must-read for immigration scholars and anyone interested in the day-to-day workings of street-level bureaucrats and the myriad ways they make law and in the process, transform immigrants into 'cultural citizens.' -- Kitty Calavita * University of California, Irvine * Anna Tuckett's lively and engaging book sheds new light on the confused relationship between migrants and Italian state bureaucracy, and the gaps between formal law and 'practical stuff.' Rules, Paper, Status makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the bureaucratic and legal anomalies produced by the current 'moral panic' in Europe concerning immigration. -- Anthony Good * University of Edinburgh * [Tuckett's] findings show that, paradoxically, even while migrants develop cultural skills in navigating bureaucratic norms, these abilities do not challenge the larger exclusionary views and practices of the Italian state and society....Tuckett's clear, concise writing makes this book an excellent gateway to a critical topic treated with analytical rigor....Highly recommended. -- A.H. Fabos * <i>CHOICE</i> * By focusing on the sinewy and unstable ties between migrants and their legal status, [Tuckett] offers a rich analysis of legal and bureaucratic practices that shape migrants' economic and political opportunities as well as their social and cultural life in Italy.[Rules, Paper Status] provides a crucial contribution to theorizing about citizenship in European countries and the hegemonic discourse of integration. --Veronica Ferrari, Allegra Rules, Paper, Status is a timely and relevant contribution to understanding the workings of the state beyond discourses of border enforcement....[it] speaks to a broader readership, including academics and state officials, and contributes to contemporary discussions on studying the 'state' at street level. -- Lisa Marie Borelli * <i>Anthropology in Action</i> * Rules, Papers, Status is a vivid journey into the workaday functioning of the Italian 'documentation regime'[It] poignantly depicts a country that seems unable to come to terms with its migrants. -- Tiziana Caponio * <i>International Migration Review</i> *

Author Information

Anna Tuckett is Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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