We Are Here: undocumented migrants and activism as resistance

Abstract

This article explores how the collective of undocumented migrants We Are Here mobilises and creates strategies for social change in the Netherlands. The empirical material presented in this article refers to in-depth interviews and discussions with activists from We Are Here. Collective empowerment in its radical form and postcolonial perspectives were used to analyse the resistance strategies to unmask (post)colonial power structures in the Netherlands. The result of the study shows that We Are Here’s visibility, legal grey-area strategies (such as occupying buildings [squatting]) and finding legal forms of supporting itself economically prove collective empowerment and shed light on oppressive tactics used by local governments in the Netherlands. The claims of undocumented activists bring necessary knowledge to front-line social workers in developing radical social work practice with undocumented migrants in Europe.