ABSTRACT
Through presenting the cases of Tijuana and Istanbul this chapter explores the local processes triggered by the EU and US policies on transit migration. Although international migration is not an issue for the local agendas, the fight against irregular migration has been growing in both cities as a consequence of the politicisation of transit migration by Western neighbours. International geopolitical interests are indeed (1) shaping the way in which the presence of international migrants is framed and (non-)governed in border cities of the so called “transit countries”, and (2) deeply affecting the vulnerability of migrants settled there, either temporarily or permanently.
