This introductory chapter examines how access to social services—traditionally viewed as instruments of integration—has become a central site for the governance of migration through practices of “everyday bordering”. Drawing on critical border studies, social policy analysis, and migration governance literature, the chapter frames the volume’s investigation of how borders are enacted not only at territorial limits but also within the institutional and discursive fabric of societies. It introduces the theoretical concepts of deservingness, differential inclusion, and internal bordering to analyse how migrants’ access to healthcare, housing, welfare, and education is conditioned by political discourse, legal frameworks, and frontline bureaucratic practices. The chapter also outlines the book’s rationale, key questions, and structure, emphasising its interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Through empirical case studies spanning Europe and beyond, the volume reveals how bordering processes are both contested and reproduced in the daily lives of migrants and the professionals who interact with them. This framing advances debates on the role of social services in perpetuating or resisting exclusion for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in migration and welfare governance.