DeZIM Lunch Discussion | Visible, Invisible, Urban: Local Responses to Irregular Migration in European Cities

Migration is often discussed through the lens of national borders, legal categories, and state control. Yet many of the everyday dynamics and conflicts surrounding migration take place at the urban level, where cities, local institutions, civil society actors, and migrant communities shape experiences of access, exclusion, recognition, and participation. 

In this event, Gülce Şafak Özdemir presents insights from her comparative research on local responses to irregular migration in European cities and from her MSCA project VIMUS, which examines the visibility and invisibility of migrants living in an irregular status in urban settings. Her work explores how legal frameworks, welfare systems, labor markets, and local institutions shape unequal experiences of visibility, exclusion, and belonging for migrants living with an insecure legal status. 

The presentation will be followed by a commentary by Harald Bauder, who will connect these findings to broader debates within Soli*City on urban sanctuary, migrant solidarity, and local forms of hospitality. Together, the discussion will address how cities respond to migration beyond national policy frameworks, what possibilities and limitations local actors face, and how visibility can become both a resource and a source of vulnerability. 

The event is part of “Local Communities, Global Networks,” a series by Soli*City and the DeZIM Institute that explores migration beyond nation-state-centered perspectives, with a focus on local communities, transnational networks, regional governance, and migrant agency. 

Key Questions:

• How do cities across Europe respond to migrants with insecure legal status, and how do these responses differ across local contexts? 

• How do local institutions, welfare systems, and civil society actors shape visibility, exclusion, and participation in urban settings? 

• When can visibility foster recognition and participation, and when can it become a source of vulnerability for migrants? 

• What possibilities and limitations do cities and local actors face within broader national and European migration regimes?  

Speaker: 

• Dr. Gülce Şafak Özdemir, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow, University of Birmingham, and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University 

Commentary by: 

• Prof. Dr. Harald Bauder, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada; Director of Soli*City 

Moderator: 

• Dr. Elias Steinhilper, DeZIM Institute