Perspectives on Sanctuary Cities: An Interview with Dr. Judith Bernhard

by Vivian Whalen

Dr. Judith Bernhard is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and the founder of the University’s MA program in Early Childhood Studies.  She also teaches in the   Immigration and Settlement Studies MA program and is affiliated with the PhD program in Policy Studies.  As part of the North American Hub of Soli*City project, Dr. Bernhard and her colleagues, Dr. Julie Young and Dr. Luin Goldring, are currently completing a literature review on the extent to which a Sanctuary City can help to overcome barriers to access for families with young children. We interviewed Dr. Bernhard to learn more about her perspective on Sanctuary Cities and how it relates to her research. 

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Hospitality towards Migrants and Refugees: State vs. City

by Harald Bauder

“We’re touched by their hospitality and they’re touched by our endeavours to support them.” This is how a student nurse delivering medical supplies describes the work of volunteers at an NGO in Poland that supports Ukrainian refugees. Residents in the Netherlands, the UK, and other countries who are opening their homes to refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine practice a form of “bottom up” hospitality.

UZHHOROD, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 27, 2022 - A woman and children are pictured at the Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke checkpoint on the Ukraine-Slovakia border, Zakarpattia Region, western Ukraine. — Photo by Ukrinform. Retrieved from https://depositphotos.com/550432906/stock-photo-uzhhorod-ukraine-february-2022-woman.html on April 18, 2022
UZHHOROD, UKRAINE – FEBRUARY 27, 2022 – A woman and children are pictured at the Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke checkpoint on the Ukraine-Slovakia border, Zakarpattia Region, western Ukraine. — Photo by Ukrinform.
Retrieved from https://depositphotos.com/550432906/stock-photo-uzhhorod-ukraine-february-2022-woman.html on April 18, 2022
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Interview with Dr. Meghan Joy on Sanctuary Cities 

by Vivian Whalen 

Canada touts itself as a multicultural and accepting nation – but is it? Canada’s “sanctuary cities”, such as Toronto, illustrate that issues remain in creating the progressive cultural mosaic so often promoted about the country. Take Toronto’s “Access T.O” policy. The law is meant to provide undocumented persons access to an abundance of city services, like paramedic aid, without needing to provide government identification. On paper it may seem helpful, but in practice, it tends to fall short. We interviewed Dr. Meghan Joy to speak on these issues. 

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African intermediary cities as actors in urban migration governance. A blog mini-series by Janina Stürner-Siovitz (4)

Third post: How do African local authorities make use of transnational action to address the city-migration-governance paradox?

by Janina Stürner-Siovitz

It is important to highlight that at the time of writing, only few local authorities in Africa are directly engaging in questions of migration. Nevertheless, research shows that in the last years a growing number of African local authorities have started participating in transnational projects and networks that provide them with various opportunities:

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African intermediary cities as actors in urban migration governance. A blog mini-series by Janina Stürner-Siovitz (3)

Second post: Why would African local authorities engage in questions of mixed migration?

by Janina Stürner-Siovitz

In 2018, member cities of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) adopted the Charter of Local and Subnational Governments of Africa on Migration. Within the past years, cities such as Jijiga in Ethiopia, Arua in Uganda, Sfax in Tunisia, and Tangier in Morocco have started cooperating with Cities Alliance, the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration Project (MC2CM) and other actors to promote peer learning and to launch pilot projects addressing urban migration in collaborative ways. Building on such experience, local authorities have called for partnerships and greater support from national and international actors during the 2020 African Union Consultations of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).

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