Humanities & Social Sciences
January 2026
The tragedy of the border
Asylum, destitution and homelessness
by Mark Rainey
Amid the global migration crisis, the UK has created and increasingly hostile policy environment for asylum seekers that has pushed many into unnecessary hardship and homelessness. This volume is an ethnographic study alongside refused asylum seekers and refugees living destitute in Manchester, UK. Based on over three years of research in emergency night shelters and on the streets of the city, it draws on the stories and experiences of those who have been driven into destitution by an antagonistic immigration system. The book not only explores how legal and temporal uncertainty shapes the daily lives of those who have had their asylum claims refused, but also attends to the experiences of volunteers and activists working on the frontline of the crisis. While the work is rich in detail, it also extends outwards and offers new insights into our understanding of borders and the need to rethink the grand notions of justice and hospitality.
