Della Torre, Lucia

Bottom-up Approaches to the Regularisation of Undocumented Migrants
2018

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.