Return Schemes from European Countries: Assessing the Challenges

Drawing on a review of the academic literature on return migration and return migration policies, as well as on reports and project documentation, this article provides a general assessment of return schemes from European countries, with a focus on those targeting failed asylum‐seekers and irregular migrants. The article first highlights the contrasted understanding of return and reintegration by migration policy‐makers and migration scholars respectively. It then provides an overview of the main challenges, focusing on seven key issues: preparedness to return, the imbalance of represented interests, legal mobility, conditions in the countries of origin, the reintegration package, integration in Europe, and the specific obstacles to return faced by failed asylum‐seekers. The article highlights the need to reassess return policies and frame more realistic schemes.     

DEPORTED: The Right to Asylum at EU’s External Border of Italy and Libya1

During the past year the temporary holding centre for irregular migrants in Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, has been repeatedly denounced for instances of procedural irregularities and alleged human rights violations. This study presents an overview of events and policies implemented by the Italian and Libyan Governments, the European Union and the International Organization for Migration and outlines the contentions surrounding these policies. It argues that the implementation of the detention and return schemes, commonly discussed in terms of the externalization of asylum, does not actually relocate the asylum procedures outside the EU’s external borders but rather deprives asylum seekers of the possibility of accessing asylum determination procedure. It further suggests that policies geared towards deterring irregular migratory flows into Europe and combatting smuggling in migrants in Libya, might paradoxically result in ‘illegalizing’ the movement of migrants in northern Africa and increasing the involvement of smuggling networks. The study ends by raising the issue of the political responsibility of all actors involved and suggests the most affective ways to balance the rights and responsibilities on asylum at the EU’s southern border.     

Forced migrations and Externalization of European Union Border Control: Serbia on the Balkan Migration Route

The article argues that the recent “migration crisis” has been constructed as a security threat to the European Union, which conceals both the multiple causes of forced migrations, and the inability of the Union to respond to the massive influx of people in need of protection. Serbia had taken up a “refugee-friendly” policy, which implied a humanitarian approach. However, due to a change of political discourse in connection with the EU accession, a shift towards the security position occurred. This article sheds light on the actual status of migrants and asylum seekers in Serbia, as well as the state response to the growing challenges in the area of acceptance and protection, following the official closure of the Balkan route. In the conclusion, the authors tentatively plead for return to a balanced humanitarian approach, since there is clear evidence that mixed migration flows will resume in the times to come.     

Irregular migration: policy responses in Africa and Asia

This article reviews population policies designed to curb or respond to irregular migration flows, with particular emphasis on policies adopted by governments in Africa and Asia. An overview of policies on the world level indicates a number of similarities that transcend regional lines and levels of development. Policy decisions are often influenced by the nature and attributes of the undocumented migrant population and by the current social, economic, and political situation in the receiving country. Governments are frequently more tolerant of migrants who possess needed skills or settle in sparsely populated areas that have manpower shortages. Between the 2 policy extremes of amnesty and deportation, several measures have been employed, including stricter border controls, stringent visa requirements, work permit systems, and efforts to ensure that migrants do not violate the conditions of their admission. In many cases, several policy measures are used simultaneously. Ensuring the observance of appropriate measures for the recruitment of migrant workers, their departure from the home country, and placement in employment in the country of immigration is widely regarded as the best way to prevent illegal movements of workers. Temporary worker programs are sometimes advocated to provide legal channels for potential migrants. At the national level, institutions that deal with irregular migrants tend to be limited in their mandate to a law enforcement role. In Africa, most governments have recently strengthened border and documentary controls and attempted to regulate migration through the labor market. In many cases, mass expulsions have been necessary as a result of laissez-faire policies. In Asia, on the other hand, mass deportation has been less common as a result of more stringent security measures and documentary controls. In both countries, policies have been basically reactive in response to rapidly changing political and economic conditions. Needed is an international convention to serve as a guideline for the humanitarian treatment of undocumented workers.     

Beyond black and white: the role of media in portraying and policing migration and asylum in Italy

This paper investigates the media’s role in shaping perceptions and policies concerning the so-called migrant crisis as well as how this affects solidarity with newcomers, specifically focusing on Italy. The first part of the paper examines the coexistence of the humanitarian narratives of saving lives and the spectacle of militarised borders. It unveils how the daily transmission of sensationalist and stereotyped images of migrants contributes to their transforming into subjects and objects of fear, both experiencing the fear of being rejected and eliminated and inspiring fear in the resident populations. The second part addresses the need for innovative approaches in the construction of a positive public image of migrants and refugees. Through an analysis of several communication campaigns, realised by state and non-state actors for the promotion of social coexistence between citizens and newcomers, this paper calls for a fundamental shift in the way we communicate about migration. A concluding reflection on the challenges and opportunities posed by the arrival of migrants and asylum seekers in our societies, proposes that they should not only be perceived as objects of policies, but should be considered active partners of their own inclusion in the receiving societies.     

Impugning the Humanitarian Defence

This article examines the claim that democratic states are justified in restricting access to asylum seekers on the grounds that failing to do so reduces public support for humanitarian refugee policies – referred to here as the humanitarian defence. Drawing on detailed historical, comparative and interpretive analysis of migration policy in Canada and Australia, the author builds on Matthew Gibney’s development of practically guided normative theory to assess cases in which political elites may legitimately enact restrictive policies in response to strong public opposition. Challenging the normative basis of the humanitarian defence, the article engages in a detailed discourse analysis of asylum crises in Canada (1987, 1999) and Australia (1979, 2001). The findings suggest that political elites do not respond to an independently arrived at, and objectively established, public opinion as implied in the humanitarian defence. Rather, political elites play a crucial role in shaping the discourse on asylum seekers and consequently, influence the very “public opinion” to which they claim to be responding. The author concludes that political elites should attempt to foster an environment in which the public accepts international obligations to refugees but accepts that in some cases political elites may be justified in implementing restrictive measures.     

“Infiltrators” or Refugees? An Analysis of Israel's Policy Towards African Asylum-Seekers

This article adopts a genealogical approach in examining Israeli immigration policy by focusing on the situation confronting African asylum seekers who have been forced back into Egypt, detained and deported but who have not had their asylum claims properly assessed. Based on immigration policies formulated at the time of Israeli independence, whose principle objective was to secure a Jewish majority state, we argue that Israel's treatment of African asylum seekers as ‘infiltrators’/economic migrants stems from an insistence on maintaining immigration as a sovereign issue formally isolated from other policy domains. Such an approach is not only in violation of Israel's commitment to the Refugee Convention, it directly contributes to policies which are ineffective and unduly harsh.     

Aid, Relief, and Containment: The First Asylum Country and Beyond

A fundamental problem that confronts the European Union today is how it can maintain its commitment to the institution of asylum while checking irregular migration and the abuse of its asylum system. In order to explore a response to this dilemma the paper addresses the following questions: what role can relief and aid policies play in influencing migration patterns? What should be the appropriate approach to the granting of relief and aid to developing countries of first asylum? Should it be viewed as a part of the larger problem of development or be treated as a distinct issue? What kind of a relief/aid model will help refugees return to post–conflict societies and stop the conflict from reproducing itself? The paper examines two different approaches to address these questions: the alliance–containment approach and the distributive–developmental approach. It also looks at some empirical evidence, which reveals that at present it is a conservative alliance–containment approach that informs EU relief and aid practices. This approach, however, does not help achieve the stated objective of checking abuse of asylum and migration procedures while sustaining a commitment to a liberal asylum regime. The paper goes on to identify the gaps in EU policy and the lessons that can be drawn. It concludes by looking at different policy alternatives and suggesting the adoption of a reformist distributive–developmental model. The implementation of this model holds out the hope of reverting to a more liberal asylum regime while controlling irregular migration and “bogus” asylum seekers, for the reformist distributive developmental model takes a more long–term view of migration trends and also seeks to address the growing North–South divide.     

Luanda – Holanda: Irregular Migration from Angola to the Netherlands

Against the backdrop of push‐pull and social network theories on migration and criminological theory on human smuggling, this article tries to answer the questions of why and how Angolan asylum‐seekers migrated to the Netherlands since the end of the 1990s. The study shows that the migrants can be described as opportunity seeking migrants, rather than survival migrants. Most migrants made no use of typical human smugglers during their travel. They rather used assistance from their social network and made use of the services of middlemen, called esquemas, on an ad‐hoc basis. In this article it is argued that “archetypal” large smuggling organisations in Angola have not evolved because of the existence of these highly informal networks. Support is found that both push‐pull and social network theories can contribute to explaining irregular, asylum migration.     

Refugee Women in Europe: Some Aspects of the Legal and Policy Dimensions

This article presents an overview of the legal and policy issues affecting refugee and asylum-seeking women in European host societies. First, it explores the unique types of persecution experienced by women and shows that the asylum determination process, along with the status of women relative to men, mitigates against the effective protection of women. The legal basis for asylum, the evidential requirements and the procedural norms all reduce the protection which is likely to be conferred upon asylum-seeking women. Second, the article provides an overview of responses to female refugees and asylum-seekers in European countries of asylum. Although there are differences between countries, there is also a large degree of uniformity. For example, there is a lack of recognition and understanding of the diversity and the range of experiences which refugees bring with them, including different social and cultural norms. Moreover, European policies do not provide special provisions to facilitate the settlement of refugee women and instead place barriers to their social and economic participation. Third, the article examines policies for family reunion in different countries and shows that such unfavourable and unsympathetic policies mitigate against the settlement of refugee women. Finally, the article argues that if refugee and asylum-seeking women are to have their cases recognized and to be successfully settled, then there needs to be a complete rethink of legislation and policy in Europe.     

Changing the Status Quo of Migration and Asylum Policies in Turkey: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

Turkey has been experiencing a migration policy transformation in the wake of a new ruling entitled the ‘Foreigners and International Protection Law’ (FIPL). This qualitative inquiry investigates this major change process by focusing on the planned reorganisation which is a result of the legislation process, with the aim of connecting the change process to a change model. The researcher interviewed twenty-seven middle and upper-level managers and experts from the Foreigners, Border, and Asylum Department (FBAD) and Asylum and Migration Bureau (AMB) of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior. Both their implementation of the change process and perceptions on such a transformation period were investigated. The study also examined the change process of the irregular migration and asylum regime within Turkey’s bid for full European Union membership as well as implementation of the draft FIPL. This study provides an example of a policy change process by analysing how governmental practice and legislation have evolved with regard to irregular migration, asylum seekers, and refugees in Turkey. The results noticeably reveal that, instead of seeing irregular migration and asylum as merely a threat to national security or a welfare issue, Turkey has chosen a way of developing a humanitarian approach in both the legislative and administrative fields. This is the first study which attempts to analyse a particular policy change process in the migration and asylum regime in Turkey. The results could influence policy dynamics and set priorities by suggesting policy solutions.     

The State,Unauthorized Mexican Migration,and Vulnerability in the Workplace

For the last 20 years, migration scholars have generated a number of important empirical insights about the ways in which the state, through the enactment of immigration policies, creates workplace vulnerabilities such as discrimination, harassment, wage theft, workplace raids, and the threat of deportation. Recent studies of illegality also examine the role of the state but do so in a way that explores what legal status means and how it is experienced in everyday lives of migrants marked as “illegal” by the state. This article reviews recent research that shows that the state operates in a gray zone of enforcement that puts migrants in ambiguous social spaces and heightens their vulnerability at work. However, research also finds that migrants find ways to exert their agency in challenging work environments.     

Asylum Policies, Trafficking and Vulnerability

This article is located at the intersection of three recent debates on asylum in Europe: the efficacy of asylum policies; the trafficking of asylum seekers, and their growing vulnerability. Most commentators agree that there are relationships between these three debates, but the nature of those relationships remain unclear. Yet the need properly to understand the nature of these links has become especially pressing in the context of a raft of new policy initiatives on both asylum and trafficking, and concerns for their consequences for asylum seekers. At least part of the reason for this lack of clear understanding is significant gaps in empirical research. This article begins to fill some of these gaps, and in so doing to unpick some of the relationships between asylum policies, trafficking and vulnerability. It focuses on the experiences of asylum seekers in Europe, thus presenting a "bottom up" perspective on trafficking and asylum policies. The findings are derived from research among Iranian asylum seekers in the Netherlands, conducted between 1994 and 1996. The article discusses some of the reservations that surround this approach, including methodological issues such as trust, and the difficulties of applying more widely a narrow case study. Within the context of these reservations, it draws three main conclusions. First, empirical evidence to support the view that increasing proportions of asylum seekers are being forced to turn to traffickers in order to negotiate restrictive asylum policies. Second, the ways in which trafficking is exposing asylum seekers – including at least some "genuine" refugees – to new forms of vulnerability. Third, that direct links exist between asylum policies, trafficking and vulnerability, and that the blame for growing vulnerability lies more with asylum policies than with traffickers or with asylum seekers themselves. Finally, these empirical conclusions are targeted on a series of policy implications.     

Asylum Discourse in New Zealand: Moral Panic and a Culture of Indifference

Recent law changes in New Zealand allowing for the detention of a “mass arrival” of asylum seekers reflect a concerning international rhetoric and associated policy trend in Australia and the United Kingdom towards those seeking asylum. This paper argues that, although the New Zealand public has not (yet) reached a “moral panic” that is prevalent within international contexts, there are concerns about a “culture of indifference” in relation to asylum seekers. By providing a policy analysis about asylum seekers and an examination on the associated discourses utilised in international contexts, this discussion presents the New Zealand context through the process of risk signification. The paper discusses how the social work profession can respond to this culture of indifference through addressing collusion (often through silence) with oppressive asylum policies, the need for stronger advocacy and action, and the associated role of social work education.     

A multi-scalar critical analysis of return migration policies in Mexico

Services and resources for migrants returning to Mexico are necessary to ease their transition and “re-integration” into home communities. Policies that do not have a holistic approach can result in serious implications for the social, political, cultural, and health of returnees, receiving families, and communities. This research critically analyses return migration policies in Mexico drawing from the intersectionality-based policy analysis framework and a multi-scalar approach to critically study return migration policies in Mexico. We analysed 20 return migration policies using the principles of the intersectionality-based policy analysis framework. In 2021, we interviewed those impacted by return migration policies in Veracruz, Mexico to gain deeper insights into return migration policies. Women who stayed behind, return migrants, community leaders, and health-care providers were interviewed via phone or face-to-face in Spanish. Information was transcribed verbatim and analysed with the aid of computer-assisted data analysis software and quotes were translated into English. They shed light on two major inequities in policies: (1) the lack of acknowledgement of diversity or return migrants and (2) the exclusion of receiving families and communities from the “re-integration” process of return migrants. Based on the multi-scalar critical policy analysis, return migration policies in Mexico would benefit from a more comprehensive and inclusive approach where the needs of return migrants and community members are protected based on their diversity.     

The new grounds for deportation of European Union citizens in the United Kingdom

Politicians often mention immigration enforcement, and deportation in particular, as a means to assert state sovereignty. This article looks at deportation through exiting the European Union, an event that was interpreted as regaining sovereignty from the supra-national organisation. New immigration regulations in the United Kingdom were meant to end the EU Freedom of Movement and equalise the statuses of EU- and non-EU migrants in the United Kingdom. The research question this article addresses is the following: how do the new immigration regulations and policies affect the possibility of deportations of EU citizens in the United Kingdom? With the lens of Interpretive Policy Analysis, the article analyses primary sources and expert interviews. It concludes that the deportability of EU citizens has increased post-Brexit. It also anticipates that the deportability of EU citizens will be differentiated, as rough sleepers, former convicts and irregular migrants may be first to be targeted with deportation.     

Migration networks and policy impacts: insights from Romanian–Spanish migrations

Migration networks are now generally recognized as a means of adapting to or circumventing states’ migration policies, but little research has been carried out on quite how they work. In this article, we analyse migrant networks between Romanian and Spain over the last 20 years. We contrast two villages to reveal how different reactions to policy changes depend on the level of development of migration networks. Among these policy changes are regularizations of irregular migrants in Spain, the visa‐free entry of Romanians into Schengen countries enacted in 2002, EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007, and a bilateral agreement on labour recruitment between Romania and Spain. We conclude that networks can help migrants circumvent restrictive policies, foster the effective take‐up of permissive policies or even impede them, depending on the development of the migration networks of the communities.     

The framing of return from above and below in Ecuadorian migration: a project,a myth,or a political device?

Although return migration is a significant topic in current policy, the competing interests of sending and destination countries in promoting it and the prospects of making return strategies ‘from above’ a viable and desirable option for migrants are relatively neglected topics. In this article, I explore the distinct agendas, meanings and expectations underlying the prospects of return migration from Ecuador to Italy. I approach this recent migration flow through ethnography and an institutional analysis of the policy strategies and discourses emerging in the source country. The Ecuadorian government has recently developed a Plan Retorno aimed at facilitating emigrants’ return and economic reintegration. The narratives of Ecuadorian migrants generally reveal a deep‐rooted expectation to return home. While initially hoping to return home ‘soon’, however, migrants systematically tend to postpone their homecoming. When it does take place in the short term, it is likely to be through migration ‘failure’ rather than an actual accomplishment of their earlier objectives. Given the distinct interests and expectations driving them, it is possible to assess the relationship between the two approaches to return. I conclude that return migration, irrespective of its actual accomplishment, is relevant to a better understanding of emigrant policies and of immigrant life trajectories overseas.     

Framing an EU Level Regularization Mechanism: Mission Impossible?

European Union Member States have so far tackled the problem of irregular migration in Europe by adopting common policies which aim to prevent irregular arrivals on the EU borders. In their EU‐level policies, they have neglected regularization as an alternative EU‐level policy addressing irregular migration. This represents a contrast to regularizations which are performed by many EU Member States. However, the EU Commission has gradually adopted a more positive stance about regularization. This article will discuss the principles of an EU‐level regularization scheme through the analysis of the Commission's ideas on the issue. It will be argued that, rather than adopting a common policy, the flexible set of measures, which guide Member States in formulating regularization mechanism for protection/humanitarian reasons, can be formulated at the EU level.