Abstract The category of the ‘irregular’ migrant is usually seen as the quintessential non-status under international law, offering states plenty of discretion while providing few practically accessible rights for migrants. At the same time, certain local authorities have struggled to justify more pragmatic responses when dealing with the reception of irregular immigrants. This article explores a recent trend that potentially holds the key to both conundrums: the invocation of international human rights law, in their defence, by local authorities. More specifically, their engagement of human rights can force international institutions to apply and develop norms in this area. Within this story of legal pluralism, nation states are under increasing pressure to live up to the standards that they had previously avoided. Two examples of ‘frontier cities’ operating in very different constitutional and discursive environments will be used to substantiate the argument. The first concerns support by the city of Utrecht of a case concerning emergency social assistance for undocumented migrants before the European Committee of Social Rights. The second example concerns San Francisco as a sanctuary city in the US and a place with a long history of localization of international human rights law. The article closes with a critical reflection on the potential trajectories that this trend might take and what this means for understandings of legal pluralism as well as future research.

中文翻译：

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拉回人权？地方当局、国际法和无证移民的接收

摘要 “非正规”移民这一类别通常被视为国际法下典型的无身份，为国家提供了大量的自由裁量权，同时为移民提供了很少的实际可用权利。与此同时，某些地方当局在处理非正常移民的接收问题时，一直在努力证明更务实的反应是合理的。本文探讨了最近的一个趋势，它可能是解决这两个难题的关键：地方当局在为其辩护时援引国际人权法。更具体地说，它们对人权的参与可以迫使国际机构在这一领域应用和制定规范。在这个法律多元化的故事中，民族国家面临着越来越大的压力，要达到他们以前避免的标准。在非常不同的宪法和话语环境中运作的“边境城市”的两个例子将被用来证实这一论点。第一个是乌得勒支市支持欧洲社会权利委员会审理的有关无证移民紧急社会援助的案件。第二个例子是旧金山作为美国的庇护城市，也是国际人权法本土化历史悠久的地方。文章最后批判性地反思了这一趋势可能采取的潜在轨迹，以及这对理解法律多元化和未来研究意味着什么。第一个是乌得勒支市支持欧洲社会权利委员会审理的有关无证移民紧急社会援助的案件。第二个例子是旧金山作为美国的庇护城市，也是国际人权法本土化历史悠久的地方。文章最后批判性地反思了这一趋势可能采取的潜在轨迹，以及这对理解法律多元化和未来研究意味着什么。第一个是乌得勒支市支持欧洲社会权利委员会审理的有关无证移民紧急社会援助的案件。第二个例子是旧金山作为美国的庇护城市，也是国际人权法本土化历史悠久的地方。文章最后批判性地反思了这一趋势可能采取的潜在轨迹，以及这对理解法律多元化和未来研究意味着什么。