Interviews with illegal immigrants in Rotterdam

For information on strategies and labour market position of illegal immigrants, data was collected within the framework of the Unknown City project in Rotterdam (see Burgers and Engbersen 1999). Between 1993 and 1995, 169 interviews with illegal immigrants were held in Rotterdam, of which the outcomes formed the backbone of the research project. We used a wide variety of search channels and came into contact with people from the traditional immigrant groups in the Netherlands (Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Cape Verdeans) and with illegal immigrants from other countries such as Pakistan and Ghana. About one quarter of the research group was female. The interviews took between half an hour and several hours. Some respondents were visited several times. Most interviews were held in Dutch or English, some in the mother tongue of the respondents. All conversations were typed out on the basis of notes or tape recordings. Most respondents were between twenty and forty years of age. The table below summarises some basic characteristics. When citations are used throughout the text, the numbers refer to the codes in the first column.