'Illegal' Traveller
An Auto-Ethnography of Borders

Based on fieldwork among undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers Illegal Traveller offers a narrative of the polysemic nature of borders, border politics, and rituals and performances of border-crossing. Interjecting personal experiences into ethnographic writing it is 'a form of self-narrative that places the self within a social context'.

In 'Illegal' Traveller, Shahram Khosravi explores the issue of borders and border crossing in the era of globalization and transnationalism, analyzing how the nation-state system regulates movements of people. In doing do, Khosravi contends that freedom of mobility for some is only possible through the organized exclusion of others. Khosravi examines how migrant illegality is configured in the contemporary world and explores what it means to be an 'illegal' migrant. The focus is on a multifaceted picture of what migrant illegality is like for those who find themselves in this position. Based on his own journey and informants' border narratives, he investigates the nature of borders, border politics, and the rituals and performances of border crossing. By focusing on individual experiences he draws attention to the implementation of policy and law. Border stories reveal the interaction between agency and structure in migratory experiences. They offer a human portrait of illegal travellers.

Introduction
Accustomed Soil
Border Guards and Border People The Community of Displacement The Invisible Border Homelessness
We Borders
Conclusion