In the first episode of Mobility, Work, and Rights, hosts Nando Sigona and Ilse van Liempt kick off the series by unpacking a key question: What exactly is irregular migration? Misunderstandings around this issue shape how it’s talked about in politics and the media, and how policies are made. Nando and Ilse explore what irregular migration really means and why it has become such a hot topic across Europe. They look at how different countries respond to migration and why cities seem to be more progressive than national governments in handling the presence of migrants with precarious legal status.

To help them in this task, Nando and Ilse are joined by two special guests: Dr Blanca Garcés Mascareñas, Senior Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, and Dr Myriam Cherti, Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford’s COMPAS.

Together, they break down why definitions matter and how they shape the way we think about irregular migration.

Our podcast picks …

• De Verbranders, a podcast all about Europe’s borders and resistance to them https://soundcloud.com/de-verbranders
• This episode of Al Jazeera’s Inside Story with Nando Sigona: https://youtu.be/xPQR4t33tW4
• This episode of Who do we think we are? with Ida Danewid talking about racial capitalism and immigration enforcement https://migzen.net/podcasts/who-do-we-think-we-are/s3-e10-migration-and-the-making-of-global-britain/

How to cite this episode:

Van Liempt, I , Sigona, N, Garcés Mascareñas, B and Cherti, M (2024) “What is Irregular Migration? Definitions and Why They Matter”, Mobility, work and rights: the I-CLAIM podcast, S1 E1, 28 October 2024.

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