Making asylum work? Civic stratification and labor-related regularization among rejected asylum seekers in Germany

Abstract

Rejected asylum seekers often do not return to their countries of origin and face precarious living conditions in destination countries. Taking Germany as a strategic case, we investigate whether labor-related regularization, or “laborization,” may serve as a solution for such migrants. We analyze the factors determining access to such regularization and how labor-related regularization relates to migrants' needs and aspirations. Based on extensive desk research and interviews with stakeholders, including (rejected) asylum seekers in Stuttgart, we find that laborization provides resourceful and “deserving” individuals with valuable opportunities to realize their aspirations, but it is insufficient to fully address non-deportability.