ABSTRACT
Scholars and political activists are keenly aware that the process of identity formation lies at the heart of societal transformation. For Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, revolution required that the urban working class realizes that it constitutes a political force. Unlike the proletariat of the 19th century, however, illegalized migrants are not a distinct class but a part of a larger social formation consisting of persons experiencing various forms of exclusion, injustice, and oppression. This formation can become a powerful force for political transformation. Even though illegalized migrants and other excluded groups are denied full social and political participation, they are no less a part of society. The shared political sphere created by the bond of solidarity between formal citizens and illegalized migrants has enabled the latter to “enact themselves as political subjects in their own right”. No One Is Illegal activities in Canada are situated in a different geographical, historical, and political context than in Germany.
