The Politics of Sanctuary

By: Vojislava Filipcevic Cordes

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Synopsis: The Politics of Sanctuary examines sanctuaries as spaces where activists oppose what they see as an unjust restrictive regime trapping immigrants in conditions of legal liminality. Drawing on her fieldwork in New York City, Vojislava Filipcevic Cordes explores the politics of immigrant exclusions, and depicts how immigrants in sanctuary cities stake claims for their rightful presence. She argues for a more inclusive political life of expanded urban citizenship for undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees through the mechanisms of sanctuary practice. Blending a participant-observation case study of the immigrant-organized New Sanctuary Coalition with urban politics and theory, The Politics of Sanctuary also offers ideas for how ways sanctuary practices, supported by governance and social-service arrangements, can promote legitimate claims to immigrant urban membership and belonging.