Status Precarity, Ontological Insecurity and the Wellbeing of Children in Families With Precarious Immigration Status in Scotland

Abstract

Migration policy in the United Kingdom continues to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable forms of migration, using increasingly punitive policy provisions designed to make life unliveable for those outside narrowing frames of acceptability. Part of this policy involves broadening and deepening precarious forms of status while denying routes to permanence to those considered less desirable. This includes many families with children. Although existing quantitative studies have established links between precarious immigration status, post‐migration stressors and poor mental health outcomes for children and for parents, these studies lack insight into everyday life within a hostile immigration environment, including how people actively encounter and navigate life in precarity. This paper presents new qualitative research exploring the impacts of precarious and uncertain immigration status on the wellbeing of children in the United Kingdom. It uses a novel theoretical framework combining the concept of ontological security with Bourdieu's theory of practice to determine how policies of precaritisation result in the denial of access to resources that contribute to crucial elements of wellbeing. It also provides insight into how people actively navigate these challenges to resist the pressures of exclusionary policy.