Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter explores the emergence, strategies, and challenges of sans-papiers activism in Brussels, focusing on the Collectif Sans-Papiers Belgique (SPBelgique) as a central case. Founded in 2011 in response to the perceived failure of the 2009 regularization campaign, SPBelgique brought together predominantly North African migrants advocating for collective regularization. The chapter details how the group organized meetings, planned demonstrations, and forged alliances with labor unions and civil society actors while maintaining autonomy as a self-organization. It examines key protest repertoires, including occupations, public marches, and symbolic actions, and situates these within Brussels’s evolving political landscape. While highlighting the organization’s actions, the chapter also addresses internal tensions, resource constraints, and the psychological toll of sustained activism under uncertain conditions. Crossing borders during the European March and the draining effort to create a national movement via a Solidarity March increasingly strained SPBelgique’s leadership. Political hostility and competition from collectives of Afghan asylum seekers eventually led the collective to succumb to the pressure. In the vacuum that ensued, other collectives quickly emerged to continue the struggle in their name while their accumulated knowhow and resources were largely lost.</jats:p>