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Ethnography, Vol. 7, No. 2, 209-242 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1466138106067057
© 2006 SAGE Publications

A room with a view

Irregular immigrants in the legal capital of the world

Godfried Engbersen

Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Marion van San

Rotterdam Institute for Social Policy Research, The Netherlands

Arjen Leerkes

Amsterdam School for Social Research, The Netherlands

In this article we combine field observation, interviews, cartographic and police data on nationality and illegality to analyse the social and economic mechanisms explaining the rising presence and social relations of irregular immigrants in the Schilderswijk (disreputable inner district) in the Dutch city of The Hague. Secondly, we pay attention to some unintended consequences of the restrictive policies, such as the rise in subsistence crime among irregular immigrants. Four factors are described that underline the structural nature of irregular migration: (1) the continuing immigration of non-western and East-European immigrants to the Netherlands; (2) a demand for cheap labour in specific (informal) sectors of the post-industrial economy and in remnants of industrial and agricultural sectors; (3) a steady supply of (informal) housing in poor urban districts provided by private (ethnic) households and big landlords; and (4) a demand for potential partners, partly partners who are in a dependent and powerless position.

Key Words: irregular migration • spatial concentration • informal institutions • urban marginality • multiculturalism • crime • citizenship • unintended consequences • the Netherlands


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