Abstract
Have the new municipalist pro-migrant policies succeeded in protecting the rights of irregular migrants? Cities in Spain have powers to design and implement services and programs aimed at the reception and integration of immigrants. Cities can also include those who are in vulnerable conditions, guaranteeing them access to healthcare, minimum income coverage or labour training, regardless of the immigration status. However, old municipal politics have been characterised by pragmatism, being mainly focused on regular immigrants. Besides, there has been a restrictive and punitive turn in immigration policy directly connected to the economic recession and austerity as of 2008. To explore what possibilities do cities have to expand and protect the rights of irregular immigrants, we analyse in this contribution the cases of Madrid and Barcelona for the years 2015–2019 when progressive municipalists fronts ruled the cities. Based on the textual analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with political parties, street-level bureaucrats and activists, we first examine the competencies that municipalities have in migration matters and mainstream approaches in Spain. Then we discuss the action of the new municipalism, focusing the analysis on four political measures that have been rebel and innovative in protecting irregular immigrants, namely, the proactive census, the prevention of irregularity, access to healthcare and changes in police protocols. These real experiences allow us to argue that cities can achieve changes in the way state control is enforced. However, the analysis also shows tensions between the political will and institutional constraints.
Highlights
Over the course of the last two decades, liberal states have undergone a shifting from promoting policies that expand social and civil rights to restricting access
When in 2011, the government changed to the People’s Party (PP)—a more liberal conservative tendency, it approved a series of legislative initiatives that made much more difficult to lead an ordinary life for irregular immigrants
Before going through these innovative rebel aspects in immigration politics (Section 4), we examine the decentralisation of competencies and the mainstream approach that cities have had in Spain
Summary
Over the course of the last two decades, liberal states have undergone a shifting from promoting policies that expand social and civil rights to restricting access. In particular, was highly proactive in its relations with other sanctuary cities (see Bauder & Gonzalez, 2018; Christoph & Kron, 2019; Garcés-Mascareñas & Gebhardt, 2020; García-Agustín & Jørgensen, 2019) Following this line of reasoning, in this contribution we wonder whether local pro-migrant policies have managed to expand the rights of irregular immigrants, and to what extent it is possible to improve their lives at the local level when the state is restrictive and punitive. We delve into the examination of four innovative set of policies, namely: 1) proactive policies facilitating registration in municipal censuses, 2) measures to avoid administrative irregularity, 3) actions aimed at ensuring universal healthcare, and 4) changes in police protocols These are illustrative cases of how cities can counterbalance the way state control is enforced. In the conclusion section we highlight some of the research findings
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