Abstract

The increase in migratory flows has significantly transformed Chile’s cities. In this context, the inclusion of migrant people has become a challenge for the state, since these individuals are generally exposed to a se-ries of exclusions. In a society that is rapidly diversifying, the issue of citizen-ship—that is, the question of who belongs to the political community—has been at the center of public and academic debate. This article draws from an ethnographic study conducted in a squatter in Santiago primarily inhabited by foreigners. The study’s findings show how migrants forge alternative forms of citizenship through their self-built dwellings and the establishment of symbolic boundaries. It is concluded that migrants, in their questioning of the com-monly assumed relationship between nationality and citizenship, constitute themselves as subject-citizens through the everyday experience of inhabiting the city. © 2025, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Catholic University of Temuco. All rights reserved.