Borders

What specific opportunities and risks do immigrants face in a labour market oriented towards flexibility? How different are their experiences depending on origin country, legal status, gender, or socioeconomic background? Building on first-hand empirical research in three cities of the Netherlands, the life and work stories of migrants coming from Brazil are compared and discussed. Attention is paid to the particular case of domestic and care services, their recent expansion in the European Union and their bonds with transnational labour. By bringing together the voices of migrants and some very influential contributions from social theory, Manuel Abrantes addresses important questions regarding the actual operation and consequences of territorial, organizational and citizenship borders. The concluding suggestion is that borders are dividing not only the origin and destination countries of migrants: they are also dividing migrants themselves based on their specific position in legal and social structures.