ABSTRACT
The scholarly discussion on irregular migrants and their incorporation in destination countries has been governed by the question of whether irregular migrants can achieve full incorporation. In line with the victim perspective, many scholars argue it is impossible for irregular migrants to achieve full incorporation due to their lack of legal status (see, e.g., Chavez 1991; Engbersen 1999a; Leman 1997; Van der Leun 2003b). In some conceptualisations of incorporation, participating in political life and having citizenship rights are regarded as important parameters for incorporation. In such views, lack of legal status is a direct impediment to achieving full incorporation. Other scholars use other conceptualisations and claim that irregular migrants are able to participate in many spheres of life, despite their lack of legal status. However, they do find that the lack of legal status has an indirect negative effect on incorporation. Massey et al. (1987), for example, find that illegal residence status acts as a damper on the formation of social and economic connections. This dampening effect is especially pronounced in the early stages of the migrant career. At the same time, the authors find that this dampening effect does not change the basic process of incorporation (ibid.). Although obtaining legal status is clearly an important event in the process of incorporation, and it greatly facilitates the formation of connections to the destination country, ‘it is not synonymous with incorporation itself and it is not necessarily the most important step in the process’ (ibid.: 270).
