A glimpse into the spatial dimension of care reveals that, by attributing space with the dichotomy of guest and host, complex care structures arise. The conventional implications of this dynamic revolve around the host caring for an autonomous guest. However, upon investigating the interdependencies between guest and host in the context of migration and care-work, it becomes evident that the systematics of spatial production result in hostile environments for a dependent subject. The roles of caregiver and care-receiver as such are often interchangeable, and always asymmetric in power.

By investigating four different case studies in a wide range of global and migration contexts, various forms of systemic oppressions surface, indicating a common usage of the guest and host spatial dynamic in exercising power. In each of the four narratives exist on one hand a state or private entity acting as host, and on the other hand an individual whose migration status binds them to the hostile living environment offered by the host. These environments are created by similar structural conditions, four of which are highlighted in the comparative analysis.