Putting Down (Social) Roots: Housing and Legalization Policy in Spain

• In Event: Immigration, Documentation, and Social Protection in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

For irregular migrants in Spain, the issue of housing is interlinked with legal status, since the Social Settlement legalization program requires applicants to be registered on a municipal census in order to acquire residence permits. Registry on any municipal census typically requires proof of a permanent address, however this is incompatible with the lived experiences of undocumented immigrants with “under the table” leases or short-term housing. Given this highly decentralized legalization model, this paper asks: how do municipal housing rules structure irregular migrants’ regularization opportunities? This paper uses case studies of three distinct municipalities across Spain to illustrate how housing and regularization policy conjointly act as administrative borders. While some municipalities are strict in terms of what constitutes ‘acceptable housing’ for registration, others provide alternative avenues for registry in which housing standards are inconsequential. The varied experiences of immigrants with housing and the legalization process in Spain exemplify the local mechanisms of exclusion that reinforce civic stratification even in the face of national inclusion measures. As such, municipal housing policy not only has significant implications for immigrants’ long-term political integration, but it is also instructive for how local policy shapes citizenship.

Author

• Andrea Pena-Vasquez, University of Notre Dame