Irregular immigration rates high on Europe's political agenda. Southern and Eastern European countries have intensified controls at the external European borders. This means higher and more sophisticated fences, more border patrols and more detentions and repatriations at the border. Border control has also been intensified at European seaports and airports. In this case more border control implies distinguishing tourists from potential immigrants before departure, making airlines and travel agencies responsible for checking passengers’ identities, and identifying foreigners by new technological means and a European network of immigration databases. The awareness that borders alone do not halt irregular migration has led to increased internal controls too. This includes more surveillance by the police, the increasing incarceration and deportation of irregular immigrants and their gradual exclusion from the labour and housing markets as well as from public services. Exclusion is meant to frustrate the living to such a degree that irregular immigrants who could not be stopped at the border or detained and deported afterwards will be forced to leave anyway.

Despite the serious securitisation of Europe's borders, there are approximately 2-4 million irregular migrants in Europe. They may be detained and deported at any moment, they are not allowed to work, they may face serious difficulties to find housing and they may have restricted access to health care. At the same time most irregular immigrants do work, are entitled to some basic social services and may take part in a myriad of institutions such as schools, churches, ethnic community groups and political associations. More generally, undocumented migrants live, work, shop, walk and drive among the rest of the population.

The incorporation of irregular immigrants takes mostly place at the local level: it's precisely there where they merge and interact with the rest of the population; it's also there where the practices of street-level bureaucrats, the support of non-governmental organisations and the development and implementation of particular local policies counteract the exclusionary effects of immigration policies.

The local incorporation of irregular immigrants

Research has shown that the local incorporation of irregular immigrants is often a consequence of the humanitarian and professional concerns of street-level bureaucrats, from school teachers and doctors to city council workers and local police.