Turning citizens into immigrants: state practices of welfare ‘cancellations’ and document retention among EU nationals living in Glasgow

Abstract

This article examines the everyday experiences of welfare provision among EU migrants living in Glasgow, demonstrating how the process of restricting the rights of EU citizens has occurred well before Brexit. It is based on 12 months of ethnographic research conducted in 2012 with Czech and Slovak nationals who came to the UK after 2004. Introducing the migrants' notion of zkancelovali, the paper highlights a heightened sense of insecurity in their everyday lives, which arise from the increasingly common experiences of rejections of benefit applications and delays of payments. Various state practices are discussed which call into question the limits of EU citizenship and show how the latter is affected not only through policies and discourses but also in everyday encounters with state officials, where boundaries between "us" and "them" are being redrawn. Drawing on sociological/anthropological perspectives on state, it is argued that the migrants' experiences of welfare provision can be considered as constitutive of statecraft and nation-building processes, processes which turn (EU) citizens into immigrants.

“Where are we going to go now?” European Union migrants' experiences of hostility, anxiety, and (non‐)belonging during Brexit

“…At the same time, studies have also shown how the questioning of EU citizens' rights and entitlements has taken place beyond the level of policy and discourses as they are being enacted in mundane practices and everyday interactions with British state authorities. A study conducted in 2012 that focused on everyday experiences of welfare provision among Czech and Slovak nationals in Glasgow, for example, found how these nationals had their welfare payments frequently “cancelled” and their ID documents retained by U.K. welfare authorities, often without any explanation given (Guma, ). As well as hindering migrants' access to welfare and other state services, these document retention practices also impeded their “free movement” rights to cross national borders within the EU.…”

The promise and resilience of multilingualism: language ideologies and practices of Polish-speaking migrants in the UK post the Brexit vote

“…Rzepnikowska 2018; Guma and Jones 2018). Polish children in Glasgow also received name-calling (Guma 2018) and similarly to other EU migrants were reportedly afraid to speak their language (Guma and Jones 2018).…”

EU Children in Brexit Britain: Re‐Negotiating Belonging in Nationalist Times

“…According to Barbulescu (), these countries gradually started to hollow out freedom of movement rights by, for instance, introducing measures to limit access to social benefits, and deporting homeless EU citizens. This has been documented in the UK with respect to Check and Slovak migrants who have been subjected to several instances of welfare “cancellation” and widespread and prolonged arbitrary retention of documents (Guma, ). Progressively, also, the mobility of EU citizens from older member states has started to be contested.…”

“…Two years on from the referendum, the legal status of EU nationals in the UK remains unclear (D'Angelo and Kofman, ). Simultaneously, in public discourse EU nationals have been demoted from “EU citizens” to (unwelcome) “migrant workers” (D'Angelo and Kofman, ; Guma, ; Lafleur and Mescoli, ; Ranta and Nancheva, ).…”

“…While recognizing school and friendship groups as sites of belonging, othering processes occurred there too. Unlike Polish children, Italian children did not receive name‐calling (Guma, ). However, markers of difference were sized upon to “remind” them of their otherness.…”