This essay considers the relationship between education and hospitality, illustrated in a case that sparked a highly politicized debate on the topic. In 2012, several schools in Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, excluded students from the regular process governing access to school as well as special support otherwise normally provided, based on the students’ unauthorized legal status. The controversy sparked a debate in the local media, academia, and among refugee rights organizations over the right to education, as well as the everyday risks faced by persons attending school in Malmö while present in Sweden without legal authorization.