Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

Illegalized (or undocumented) are highly precarious populations. In this paper, I assess how the communities in which these migrants live mitigate the precarious situations associated with illegalization. In this context, sanctuary cites are an innovative and promising response at the municipal scale. The concept of the “sanctuary city,” however, is highly ambiguous. In Canada, the USA, and the UK, it refers to a variety of different policies and practices. In this paper, I expand the geographical scope of sanctuary policies and practices beyond Canada, the USA, and the UK, and explore urban sanctuary policies and practices in other countries. I also examine how various concepts and terms, such as “solidarity” rather than “sanctuary” are used to mobilize municipal and urban support structures. In Germany, for example, there have been calls for sanctuary as well as solidarity practices in cities like Freiburg and Osnabrück in the wake of the 2015 “summer of migration.” Similarly, Barcelona in Spain has implemented sanctuary policies under the label “solidarity.” I also use a case study in Chile representing similar policies and practices in South America. I suggest that different kinds of sanctuary and solidarity policies and practices permit illegalized migrants to cope with their situations in particular national contexts. Recognizing similarities across national contexts is important to develop international and globally coordinated and inspired responses at the urban scale. However, national, historical, and geopolitical contexts distinctly shape local efforts to accommodate community members who the national state refuses to recognize.