‘We are against a multi-ethnic society’: policies of exclusion at the urban level in Italy

Abstract

Local policies for immigrants in recent years have attracted a growing interest among scholars. It is increasingly accepted that they are distinct units of analysis in the governance of migration, with significant degrees of autonomy with regard to national policies. Most of the literature, however, deals with the inclusive role of local policies. The argument of this article, on the contrary, is the development of local policies aimed to exclude migrants from various kinds of benefits and rights. It is based on a pilot research, conducted in Lombardy (northern Italy), on seventy cases, referred to forty-seven different local authorities. Then, the outcome of these policies is analysed: the exclusion of migrants is a tool to seek political consent, but is also a battlefield, where anti-discrimination institutions, advocacy groups and courts react against the measures approved by local authorities.

Keywords:

• Immigration
• local policies
• exclusion
• discrimination
• advocacy
• populistic politics

Acknowledgements

Patrizio Ponti has collaborated with me for the retrieval and analysis of empirical materials. I also thank the pro bono Association Avvocati per niente, which provided much of the information relating to cases here considered.

Notes

1. Taken from Corriere della Sera, the main Italian newspaper, 10 May, 2009.

2. In addition to the Avvocati per niente, it is worth mentioning the advocacy activity of the Foundation Piccini of Brescia, in cooperation with Associazione di Studi Giuridici sull'Immigrazione (Association of Law Studies on Immigration, ASGI): they send warning letters to the mayors, and if necessary, they go to courts (Usai 2011).