PODCASTS

Mobility, Work, and Rights: The I-CLAIM Podcast explores the realities of irregular migration in Europe, challenging widespread misconceptions. Migration today is increasingly restricted, with legal pathways narrowing, leaving many to navigate irregularity. But irregularity isn’t just a legal issue—it’s also shaped by the politics, narratives, and practices of various actors at national and international levels.

In this podcast, we delve into fundamental questions such as: What is irregular migration? Who is considered an irregular migrant? We aim to break down public and political narratives, offering fresh perspectives on one of today’s most pressing issues. Through in-depth discussions, we chart a new understanding of Europe’s evolving migration landscape amidst rapid social and political change.

Our series draws on the I-CLAIM study (www.i-claim.eu), which seeks to understand and improve the living and working conditions of irregularized migrant families across Europe. The project is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme and UKRI.

The podcast is produced and hosted by Nando Sigona, a sociologist at the University of Birmingham specializing in migration and citizenship, and Ilse van Liempt, a human geographer at Utrecht University with a focus on belonging, citizenship, and exclusion.

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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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