Bottom-up Approaches to the Regularisation of Undocumented Migrants : the Swiss Case

Author(s) : Lucia Della Torre

Source : http://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=1001707#page=232

Abstract:

p. 231 : “Silence seems to have fallen yet again on the fate of those who, though
most of the time significantly contributing to European States’ economies,
are presumed invisible by those same States’ governments and
administrations. The Swiss stance towards undocumented migrants has,
for quite some time, mirrored the European one of – at best –isolation
and indifference. Yet, it is precisely from Switzerland that a new attempt
to promote the regularisation of Sans-Papiers has very recently arisen.
Coming from a Cantonal government, this operation resembles the
creative practices of social inclusion already experimented with in some
communities. Unlike the latter, however, this Swiss operation received
the endorsement of the Federal Government, thus presenting itself as an
example of ‘Swiss pragmatism’, which could become an interesting model
for other European countries.”
Keywords: regularisation, undocumented migrants, Swiss policy, social
inclusion