Abstract

The aim of this presentation is to reflect on how the daily practices of professionals working on the front line are intertwined with the integration processes of immigrants. The centrality of professionals is due to the fact that throughout the integration process, immigrants are involved in various bureaucratic contacts mediated by them. The governance of migration in Portugal is designed so that both professionals from specialised services, such as the Local Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM), and those from other public institutions, share responsibility for care, guidance and reception. In this respect, both contexts will be covered. The aim is to identify points of encounter/difficulty in the interactions between immigrants and professionals, uncovering guiding factors and the effects of these interactions, since the discretionary power they hold can, in some respect, either foster equal opportunities or inequality. Adopting the local as a strategic scale, the research is carried out in two socio-spatial contexts, an urban area (Lisbon) and a rural area (Ferreira do Alentejo). Some preliminary results of this ongoing doctoral research will be presented.