The International Conference on Migration in Africa (ICMA) hosted by the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA) and the Institute for Social Development at UWC, on 3 December 2014 brought together local, African and international scholars, academics, researchers, practitioners, professionals, policy makers and NGO representatives and funding bodies to discuss issues relating to human mobility in Africa. The topics included south-south migration, the nexus between migration and development, irregular migration and reintegration of returnee migrants.
ICMA 2014_Panel 3_ Laura Zanfrini and Fabio Baggio
1. Irregular Migration
SIHMA Conference
December 3, 2014
Laura ZANFRINI
UniversitĂ Cattolica di Milano
Fondazione ISMU, Milan
2. Irregular Migration (IM)
It is a movement that takes place outside the
regulatory norms of the sending, transit and
receiving countries
From the perspective of receiving country:
ïEntry, stay or work in the country without the necessary
authorization or documents required under immigration
rules
From the perspective of sending country:
ïLeaving the country without a valid passport or travel
documents or without fulfilling the administrative
requirements
3. The Issue of Borders
ïBorders = human âinventionâ, introduced only
recently in human history
ïBordersâ defense = one of the last symbols of the
State sovereignty
ïParticularly after 2011, IM connected with security
issues = reinforcement and externalization of
borders
ïBoth in Europe and US: restrictive immigration
policies and bordersâ enforcement = growth of IM
ïBorders and âmixed flowsâ = difficult to distinguish
among asylum seekers, people in need of protection
and migrant not in need of protection
4. Few Emblematic Examples
ïCIS countries: IM resulting from new borders of
the States
ïSome African countries: IM from imposition of
artificial borders by colonial powers
ïIn many Latin and Central American countries:
increase of African and Asian IMs mainly due to
US restrictive policies
ïEU: admission of new countries and millions of
IMs transformed in regular migrants
ïPacific Islands: offshore camps for IMs (âPacific
solutionâ)
5. Political Construction of IM
ïThe regular/irregular status = not a permanent
attribute, but a temporary situation
ïIM status = result of political construction
(definition of the borders + conditions for entry)
ïIM status can vary over the course of the
migration experience for different causes
ïIM opens a debate on the ethical (or non ethical)
foundations of its definition and the âright to
migrateâ
ïConsequence of the implementation of
immigration policies stating conditions for entry
6. Causes of IM
ïUnequal development, structural changes
(globalisation) and strong social inequalities
ïLack of labor and livelihood opportunities,
education and efficient welfare system
ïThreats to personal security: conflicts, political
instability and environmental/climate changes
ïDisproportion between no. of candidates and no.
of regular migrants set by receiving countries
ïInconsistency between entry requirements and
needs of the local economy in receiving countries
ïHigh costs and long waiting time of regular
channels
ïRestrictive rules concerning family reunions
7. Causes of IM
ïThe huge âMigration Industryâ
ïIntroduction of free-visa entry and free circulation
spaces with no right to stay and work
ïDemand for cheap labor in destination countries,
growing flexibility and precariousness of
employment relations, âparallel welfare systemsâ,
presence of employers of same ethnic background
ïStrong ethnic and social networks favoring the
arrival and the stay of irregular co-nationals
ïMisleading advocacy of some actors and
organization resulting in reinforcing the culture of
irregular migration
8. Who Gains from IM?
ïSmugglers and traffickers + mediators and fixers
ïSending countries governments (remittances)
ïCorrupted public officials
ïEmployers, and large outsourcing corporations
ïPrivate households who employ low-paid domestic
workers
ïConsumers who purchase goods produced under
exploitative work conditions
ïOwners and clients of the sex industry
ïActors managing the informal remitting channels
9. Who Loses from IM?
ïVictims of human trafficking
ïAll IMs (rights abuse and no possibility to go home)
ïLeft behind families (no possibility of family
reunification)
ïThe host country fiscal system (no contributions
from IMs)
ïLocal and regular migrant workers, (social dumping
and deterioration of labor standards)
ïHonest employers (unfair competition by employers
of IMs)
ïHosting society cohesion (negative perception of
IMs)
10. The Social Perception of IMs
ïCriminals who keep at risk national sovereignty,
public order and collective security, cause social
dumping phenomena and feed the criminal
economy
ï expulsion, deportation, detention, punishment
ïVictims of trafficking organizations, who suffer
conditions of exploitation and slavery
ï policies of assistance and protection
ïFree actors who deliberately chose to violate an
illegitimate international order
ï access to rights, regularization, reform of migration
policies
11. EU Unresolved Paradoxes
ïEuropean history: tensions between declared policy
goals and evolution of migration processes,
attempting to bridge opposite intents:
ïLimitation of new entries vs. integration of resident migrants
ïLiberal logic of open markets vs. fear for âmigrantsâ invasionâ
ïProtection of the European traditional identity vs. enhancement
of mobility and diversity
ïInstitutional discrimination against non-EU migrants vs.
protection of fundamental human rights, regardless of
nationality and status
ïRestrictive admission policies vs. a deregulation of the labor
market and tolerance towards underground economy
ïDefense of local communities from migrants vs. defense of
migrants
12. EU Unresolved Paradoxes
ïIn the EU government of IM, there are some clear
tendencies:
ïTo renounce to some basic juridical principles in order to limit
âunwanted migrationâ
ïTo represent borders management as a technocratic task,
neglecting its ethical implications
ïTo devote enormous resources to fight irregular migration,
(with little results) and little resource to support social
integration projects
ïTo submit the process of comunitarisation to the logic of
securitization and distribution of the burden of border control
ïTo bound international cooperation to sending countriesâ
cooperation in migration control (retention and repatriation)
13. A Decalogue of Priorities
1. Promote the âright not to migrateâ, making migration a
real option and combat the âirresponsibilityâ of sending
countries (emigration vs. development policies)
2. Eradicate the culture of (irregular) migration with specific
awareness raising initiatives (individuals and families)
3. Combat the improper use of entry and regularization
policies, particularly those tending to extend the
protection for humanitarian reasons to âfakeâ asylum
seekers
4. Introduce regular migration schemes aiming at satisfying
the real demands of the receiving countriesâ markets
5. Reinforce incentives for families who regularly employ
migrants; contrast the social acceptance of migrant
irregular employment within the households
14. A Decalogue of Priorities
6. Apply stronger sanctions to employers of IMs and
improve the overall labor market management
7. Question the characteristics, functioning and role of
detention centers, looking for alternative solutions
8. Develop the cooperation among civil society
organizations and religious groups of the receiving and
the sending countries, in order to provide valid
alternative to irregular migration and enhance the use of
regular migration channels
9. Promote the dialogue between sending, transit and
receiving countries in order to enhance the
harmonization of migration laws and policies
10. Promote at all governance levels and among all actors
the awareness of the basic principle of human dignity