"This article discusses some recent trends in the area of immigration and social security. Access to social security is rendered more difficult, particularly for irregular immigrants, while the scope of application of the social security system is more closely linked to the national border (retrenchment to the national borders). It is argued that these trends can be attributed to restrictive immigration policies and the implicit rejection of transnational citizenship. These factors also appear to affect the strength of the transnational informal social security networks of which migrant groups are members. The article calls for an alternative strategy for the social protection of irregular migrants based upon respect for human rights, extra-territorial responsibility of migrants and more socially inspired return policies."

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