The Chutes and Ladders of Precarious Non-Citizen Legal Status Trajectories and Incorporation in Toronto.

This paper identifies and analyzes impromptu, unofficial and contingent approaches to gaining permanent status undertaken by Latin American and Caribbean migrant workers in the City of Toronto. In the absence of official regularization programs, migrants navigate the chutes and ladders of immigration in an effort to extend their stay, acquire a work permit, and make their presence secure rather than precarious. We draw on data from a mixed-method survey of 190 migrant workers who entered Canada with precarious legal status. Our analysis shows that approaches to improving legal status and security are embedded in distinct regional histories and networks of migration and different types of Toronto-specific institutional practices with variable opportunities for discretionary and predatory practices. The case study demonstrates the importance of conceptualizing legal status trajectories towards precarity and security as contingent and institutionally-embedded chutes and ladders of incorporation.