1152 | 415 | Discussing local forms of migratory governance: the role of solidarity cities in the recent crisis context of Covid-19

We pretend that discussing governance of territorial mobilities needs to highlight the local forms of governance. Even if the national states still claim authority over the immigration issues through visas and citizenship policies, cities are mostly the places where migrants and refugees live and develop a sense of belonging. Consequently we consider that in terms of migrant inclusion, we need to give a special focus on local forms of governance of mobilities such as these solidarity cities called in the US and Canada “sanctuary cities” and in Europe “cities of refuge”. A common urban approach describes them as local initiatives, policies and practices towards accommodating and protecting undocumented migrants and refugees. Also, what commonly highlights and regroups solidarity cities are their same discourses and practices to response to national immigration exclusive policies and consequently their same fight for “elevating the urban as the scale at which membership is enacted” (Bauder, 2017). Precisely, the recent crisis context of Covid-19 reflected the paper of these local governance of territorial mobilities that worked on facilitating the access to basic necessities such as sanitarian protection, healthcare services and economical support that other policy-makers might have left aside towards undocumented migrants. In brief, this presentation provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of local governance in the recent pandemic and the importance of discussing urban scale jurisdiction when we think about migratory policies and especially for the case of undocumented immigration.

Line Crettex (Ph. D.)
“- (Graduated recently from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Mexico).”

ID Abstract: 415

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