Mainstreaming by Accident in the New-Migration Countries: The Role of NGOs in Spain and Poland

This chapter analyses the mainstreaming of immigrant integration governance in Spain and Poland. The relatively new trends of migration in these countries provide a relevant testing ground for the theory of mainstreaming. We analyse how mainstreaming has occurred, what the mechanisms behind this process are, and who is the main social and political actor in the process of (non-)mainstreaming. Our results suggest that the economic crisis has led to the phenomenon we call ‘mainstreaming by accident’. In both cases, welfare states have neglected immigrant-oriented social policies because of economic cuts, resulting in a gap in the coverage of the needs of immigrants in Spain and Poland. The actor who has taken responsibility for the immigrants are the NGOs whose capacity to intervene is limited.