ABSTRACT
The turbulent events that took place during the summer of 2015 strengthened the implementation of restrictive measures by EU countries’ governments to hinder migrants’ mobility to the EU. The movements towards Europe have unveiled a political lack of unity among EU member countries. Such lack of unity is displayed in the Schengen Area, which turned into a fragmented space that is crossed by multiple borders of various kinds. These borders work selectively and severely affect migrants’ lives. Based on ethnography on the mobilities of sub-Saharan workers with humanitarian protection between Italy and Germany, I address the fragmentation of juridical spaces within the EU. I show the multiplicity of borders that migrants are crossing. Such borders are inscribed in a context of social inequality and unequal access to resources. Partly, they are concrete and tangible. However, the materiality of borders is produced along the lines of invisible borders, among which, I argue, personal juridical status plays a crucial role.
