For Whom the Law Tolls? On Legal and Socio-political Exclusion of Undocumented Immigrants

The author examines the reasons for the undocumented immigrants’ vulnerability in their host countries. He claims that the main reason for this is the illegality of their residence on the territory of a particular country. The latter assumes the role of an all-determining legal status which, among other, exposes the undocumented immigrants to a high degree of arbitrariness in their contacts with host country frontline legal officials