This book explores the criminalisation of irregular migration in Europe. In particular, it investigates the meaning, purpose, and consequences of criminalising unauthorised entry and stay. From a theoretical perspective, the book adds to the debate on the persistence of irregular migration, despite governments’ attempts at deterring it, by taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws from international political economy and criminology. Using Italy and France as case studies, and relying on previously unreleased data and interviews, it argues that criminalisation has no effect on migratory flows, and that this is due to factors including the latter’s structural determinants and the likely creation of substitution effects. Furthermore, criminalisation is found to lead to adverse consequences, including by contributing to vicious cycles of irregularity and insecurity.
This open access book explores the conceptual challenges posed by the presence of migrants with irregular immigration status in Europe and the evolving policy responses at European, national and municipal level. It addresses the conceptual and policy issues raised, post-entry, by this particular section of the migrant population. Drawing on evidence from different parts of Europe, the book takes the reader through philosophical and ethical dilemmas, legal and sociological analysis to questions of public policy and governance before addressing the concrete ways in which those questions are posed in current policy agendas from the international to the local level. As such this book is a valuable read to researchers, practitioners and policy makers as well as to students working on irregular migration in Europe in a comparative and/or country based perspective.
This book provides a clear picture of the issues of legal and social legitimacy which surround criminal measures relating to trafficking in human beings in six Member States and the EU. It includes and explains the legal nature of the types of measures which have been adopted and the presentation of criminal sanctions and the positions taken by key actors in civil society.
The expert contributors to this edited volume, representing a multidisciplinary selection of academics, examine the treatment of irregular migration, human trafficking, and smuggling in EU law and policy. The various chapters explore the policy dilemmas encountered in efforts to criminalize irregular migration and humanitarian assistance to irregular immigrants. The book aims to provide academic input to informed policy-making in the next phase of the European Agenda on Migration. In his foreword, Matthias Ruete, Director General of DG Home Affairs of the European Commission, writes: "This initiative aims to stimulate evidence-based policy-making and to bring fresh thinking to develop more effective policies. The European Commission welcomes the valuable contribution of this initiative to help close the wide gap in our knowledge about the smuggling of migrants, and especially the functioning of smuggling networks."
The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of Migration in Europeprovides a rigorous and critical examination of what is exceptional about the European politics of migration and the study of it. Crucially, this book goes beyond the study of the politics of migration in the handful of Western European countries to showcase a European approach to the study of migration politics, inclusive of tendencies in all geographical parts of Europe (including Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, Turkey) and of influences of the European Union (EU) on countries in Europe and beyond. Each expert chapter reviews the state of the art field of studies on a given topic or question in Europe as a continent while highlighting any dimensions in scholarly debates that are uniquely European. Thematically organised, it permits analytically fruitful comparisons across various geographical entities within Europe and broadens the focus on European immigration politics and policies beyond the traditional limitations of Western European, immigrant-receiving societies. The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of Migration in Europewill be essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in, and actively concerned about, research on migration, and European and EU Politics.
This is the first monograph providing a comprehensive legal analysis of the criminalisation of migration in Europe. The book puts forward a definition of the criminalisation of migration as the three-fold process whereby migration management takes place via the adoption of substantive criminal law, via recourse to traditional criminal law enforcement mechanisms including surveillance and detention, and via the development of mechanisms of prevention and pre-emption. The book provides a typology of criminalisation of migration, structured on the basis of the three stages of the migrant experience: criminalisation before entry (examining criminalisation in the context of extraterritorial immigration control, delegation and privatisation in immigration control and the securitisation of migration); criminalisation during stay (examining how substantive criminal law is used to regulate migration in the territory); and criminalisation after entry and towards removal (examining efforts to exclude and remove migrants from the territory and jurisdiction of EU Member States and criminalisation through detention). The analysis focuses on the impact of the criminalisation of migration on human rights and the rule of law, and it highlights how European Union law (through the application of both the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and general principles of EU law) and ECHR law may contribute towards achieving decriminalisation of migration in Europe.
The book illustrates how the trend of associating migrants and refugees with criminality is on the rise. In political discourses and popular media alike, migrants and refugees are frequently portrayed as being dangerous, while cultures intent on welcoming newcomers are increasingly seen as being naïve, and providing assistance to migrants is more and more frequently subject to administrative or criminal penalties. At the same time, nondemocratic trends and practices that violate human rights and equality are gaining momentum in Europe, the US and Australia. Racism, xenophobia and anti-Islamism are simultaneously becoming more open and public; they are no longer restricted to clandestine platforms but are increasingly being mainstreamed into the political programs of parties that are entering both the EU parliaments and member state legislatures. Similar developments can be seen in the US and Australia. Such transformations in societies, governments, and institutions seem to reflect a growing amnesia regarding the lessons of the two World Wars of the 20th century, and the role that Europe, the US and Australia played in developing a post-war legal framework based on a shared, if imperfect, commitment to human rights. The book presents individual national analyses to reveal an emerging trend of “crimmigration” regardless of the peculiarities of national legislatures and internal political dynamics. By collecting original contributions from scholars based in and focused on each of these regions, it addresses above all the causes and impacts of the criminalization of migration in the early 21st century. It tackles the direct causes of these trends and encourages readers to rethink their broader political and socio-historic context. Importantly, the book does so by highlighting the ties between the criminalization of migration and equality, racism, and xenophobia. As the politics of migration become more perilous for political alliances like the EU as well for individual migrants, it is more important than ever to critically examine the cause and consequences of migrant criminalization. This collection does so from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and political traditions, seeking to overcome the distractions of charismatic politicians and the peculiar factions of national political systems, in order to reveal the underlying trends and disturbing patterns that are of interest to a broad, internationally-focused audience.
This publication examines the minimum level of social rights which illegal migrants are entitled to in Council of Europe countries, as well as obstacles to access. This is done in the light of the Council of Europe's concern to promote human rights, maintain social cohesion and prevent racism and xenophobia, in counterbalance to the more restrictive approach to illegal migration adopted by the EU. Topics covered are rights in relation to housing, education, social security, health, social and welfare services, fair employment conditions and residence rights.
With over 240 million migrants in the world, including over 65 million forced migrants and refugees, states have turned to draconian measures to stem the flow of irregular migration, including the criminalization of migration itself. Canada, perceived as a nation of immigrants and touted as one of the most generous countries in the world today for its reception of refugees, has not been immune from these practices. This book examines "crimmigration" – the criminalization of migration – from national and comparative perspectives, drawing attention to the increasing use of criminal law measures, public policies, and practices that stigmatize or diminish the rights of forced migrants and refugees within a dominant public discourse that not only stereotypes and criminalizes but marginalizes forced migrants. Leading researchers, legal scholars, and practitioners provide in-depth analyses of theoretical concerns, legal and public policy dimensions, historic migration crises, and the current dynamics and future prospects of crimmigration. The editors situate each chapter within the existing migration literature and outline a way forward for the decriminalization of migration through the vigorous promotion and advancement of human rights. Building on recent legal, policy, academic, and advocacy initiatives, The Criminalization of Migration maps how the predominant trend toward the criminalization of migration in Canada and abroad can be reversed for the benefit of all, especially those forced to migrate for the protection of their inherent human rights and dignity.
