Migration Intermediation and Ethical Boundary Work: the Case of Italy’s Legal-Administrative Field

Abstract This article examines the role of intermediaries in Italy’s legal-administrative migration field, focusing on how they navigate ethical dilemmas within a complex and bureaucratic migration regime. Drawing on 27 qualitative interviews with intermediaries handling visa and residence permit procedures, the study highlights the diverse landscape of actors—including profit-driven, solidarity-based, and rights-oriented intermediaries—who operate at the intersection of legal assistance, advocacy, and business. The analysis explores four key ethical dimensions shaping their work: responses to manipulated documentation, the filtering of applications based on perceived deservingness, decisions regarding service fees, and relationships with governmental authorities. The concept of ethical boundary work is used to illustrate how these intermediaries establish moral and professional distinctions, reinforcing or challenging institutional norms. Findings reveal that intermediaries both enable and constrain migrants' access to legal status, sometimes subverting restrictive policies while also reinforcing inequalities through selective practices. By shedding light on the tensions between solidarity and profit, empowerment and exploitation, the article contributes to broader discussions on migration governance, informal economies, and the moral complexities of legal-administrative intermediation. The study suggests policy measures to enhance transparency, regulate intermediation, and ensure migrants' access to fair and reliable legal assistance.