Samenvatting

This article examines the governance of migration through the use of ‘overt interventionism’, illustrating the bordering practices that operate in everyday housing and welfare services. It argues that such interventions are manifested through two main mechanisms: the exercise of force (such as the deportation of homeless migrants) and coercion (including restricting eligibility and advocating voluntary repatriation). Using the thesis of crimmigration, it is being demonstrated how border controls are implicated in systems claiming to offer welfare support. The article explains why housing and welfare is implicated in immigration control, through a study of two seemingly disparate national contexts – the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The main argument is that the securitization strategies used to govern migration and bordering practices more broadly are both ineffective and counter-productive, entrenching social exclusion and marginalization of migrant groups. In contrast, the article advocates a more equitable, inclusionary approach that can facilitate the emancipatory potential of services, based on the principles of citizenship rather than conditionality.