(In)Visibility of Illegalized Migrants in the Urban Settings

Illegalized migrants (IMs) in urban settings face complex dynamics of visibility and invisibility, shaped by intersecting social identities like race, gender, class, and religion. While there is a rich body of literature on these heterogeneous experiences, existing research lacks a systematic analysis of how legal and policy infrastructures, along with intersecting identities, create different pathways for marginalization, stigmatization, and recognition within different urban contexts. (In)Visibility of Illegalized Migrants in Urban Settings (VIMUS) addresses this gap by drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from Migration Studies, Critical Race Theory, Postcolonial Feminist Scholarship, and Urban Studies. It proposes a rigorous and innovative research approach structured around three main objectives: (I) analyzing legal and policy infrastructures through critical discourse analysis, (II) exploring relational dynamics of (in)visibility based on diverse urban contexts through thematic analysis, and (III)assessing different paths of intersecting identities shape (in)visibility of IMs across Boston, Birmingham, Barcelona, and Madrid though Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) based on in-depth interviews with IMs. By challenging traditional binary notions of (in)visibility, VIMUS will generate critical, timely, and cutting-edge contributions to the understanding of urban inequalities and the socio-political dynamics of (in)visibility. The findings will guide policymaking and establish a theoretical framework that addresses the complex dynamics of (in)visibility within the context of marginalization, stigmatization, and recognition. Under the supervision of Prof. Sigona from the University of Birmingham, Prof. Lamont from Harvard University, and Prof. Thomann from the University of Konstanz, the fellowship will support my career goal of securing a tenure-track position in sociology at prestigious universities across the EU, or the UK.