Caught Between Inclusion and Exclusion: Liquid Integration and Reactive Secondary Migration among Rejected Unaccompanied Minors

Rejected unaccompanied minors represent an overlooked group in migratory research on vulnerability. These minors are caught in the institutional tension between the policy goals of integration and return employed by Norway and the Netherlands. Using a comparative case study design, this analysis draws on key informant interviews to explore how return operates as both a formal objective and a largely unenforced practice. The findings point to a condition of “governed non-deportability” – a form of institutional limbo in which minors are deprived of both removal and regularization. Despite partial access to services like education, these youths face a system of precarious, “liquid integration” characterized by unstable legal status, limited future prospect, and psychosocial liminality. In many cases, the absence of durable solutions contributes to “reactive secondary migration” – onward movement driven by fear of removal and lack of integration opportunities. This study argues that such trajectories are not merely individual responses but structurally shaped by institutional contradictions and governance logics.