Embodying legal precarity: Living with ongoing short‐term protection in Germany
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| Author | Magdalena Suerbaum |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12903 |
International Migration. 2023;61:25–38.
|
25
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
INTRODUCTION
This article e xplores the prominence of th e migrant's body within pro cesses of legal and “bureauc ratic inscrip-
tion” (Horton, 2020: 2). It traces how bodie s become meaningful in t he migration regime and ask s how ongoing
legal precar ity is embodied. The bod y is thus analysed both as an obje ct that can be interpreted a nd evaluated
Received: 17 June 20 20
|
Revised: 12 March 20 21
|
Accepted: 25 June 20 21
DOI: 10 .1111/imig .12903
SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE
Embodying legal precarity: Living with ongoing
short- term protection in Germany
Magdalena Suerbaum1,2
This is an open ac cess article und er the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri butio n- NonCo mmerc ial- NoDerivs License, which
permits us e and distributio n in any medium, provid ed the original wor k is properly cited , the use is non- commercial and no
modifications or adaptations are made.
© 2021 The Author s. International Migration published by John Wil ey & Sons Ltd on behalf of In ternational Org anization for
Migration
[Correcti on added on 22 Dec ember 2021, aft er first onlin e publication : Max Planck Ins titute for the Stu dy of Religious an d Ethnic Divers ity has
been added a s an affiliatio n in this version .]
1Interdisciplinary Center for Gender
Studies, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld,
Germany
2Max Planck Ins titute for the Stud y of
Religious and Et hnic Diversity, Göt tingen,
Germany
Correspondence
Magdalena Suerbaum, Interdisciplinary
Center for Gender Studies, Bielefeld
University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615
Bielefeld, Germany.
Email: magdalena.suerbaum@uni-bielefeld.
de
Funding information
Max Planck So ciety as part of the
framework of t he research initia tive “The
Challenges of M igration, Integr ation and
Exclusion” ( WiMi). Open access f unding
enabled and o rganized by Projec t DEAL.
Abstract
Immigration regimes pay particular attention to the mi-
grant’s body in the process of legal and bureaucratic
inscription. Legal precarity, defined by the repeated re-
ception of short- term protection from deportation, is an
existential and deeply embodied experience. The analysis
of Schwangerschaftsduldung (temporary suspension of
deportation based on pregnancy) and protection for un-
accompanied minors, two legal situations in Germany, can
shed light on how the migr ant’s body receives centre stage
in the process of legal s tatus determination and shows how
the long journey to rela tive legal stability de eply affects the
body. The two legal catego ries have in common a temporal
limitation and an association with bodily transformations.
By centring on the leg al trajectories of three migrant s, this
article shows how the body is taken as the marker of vul-
nerability and (un)deservingness and becomes the bearer
of legal precarit y.
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