Irregular migration to the UK: 10 questions answered

Irregular migration is a highly emotional and hotly disputed issue riddled by uncertainties and misconceptions, says Franck Düvell. In this article he reviews what is known and clarifies some of the issues. Among other important points, he writes that the majority of irregular immigrants in the UK were at some point regular but lost their statu

Understanding the dynamics of migration to Greece and the EU:Drivers, decisions and destinations

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Destination Europe?:Understanding the dynamics and drivers of Mediterranean migration in 2015

Politicians and policymakers across Europe have largely talked about the arrival of refugees and migrants in 2015 as an unprecedented ‘event’, a single coherent flow of people that came ‘from nowhere’, suddenly and unexpectedly pressing against the continent’s southern border.There has been little or no interest in the ‘back stories’ of those arriving; instead the gap between someone leaving their home country and his or her or arrival in Europe has been filled with generalisations and assumptions. We are now several years into the ‘crisis’ and there is still no sign of a coherent long-term response.Understanding the dynamics of migration to Europe and why some people might decide to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean remains a pressing concern.The total number of people recorded as dead or missing in the Mediterranean in 2016 is higher than the total for 2015. Since the beginning of 2016 the rates of death have increased from 1 in 54 to 1 in 46 people among those crossing via the Central Mediterranean route and from 1 death in every 1,063 arrivals to 1 death in every 409 arrivals via the Eastern Mediterranean route.Both the reception infrastructure and the asylum system in Greece have failed to adapt to the needs of the refugees and migrants. This is partly a Greek failure but it is also a failure of the EU. Meanwhile escalating conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq continue to displace hundreds of thousands of people from their homes every day.And the assault on Mosul (Iraq) which began in mid-October 2016 is expected to displace 1.5 million people, many of whom are likely to cross the border into Eastern Turkey just a few hours away.Our final report of the ESRC-funded MEDMIG project shines new light on the dynamics of migration to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea drawing on a rich dataset from the first large-scale, systematic and comparative study of the backgrounds, experiences, routes and aspirations of refugees and migrants in three EU Member States – Italy, Greece and Malta – and Turkey

Who Counts in Crises? The New Geopolitics of International Migration and Refugee Governance

Recent migration ‘crises’ raise important geopolitical questions. Who is ‘the migrant’ that contemporary politics are fixated on? How are answers to ‘who counts as a migrant’ changing? Who gets to do that counting, and under what circumstances? This forum responds to, as well as questions, the current saliency of migration by examining how categories of migration hold geopolitical significance—not only in how they are constructed and by whom, but also in how they are challenged and subverted. Furthermore, by examining how the very concepts of ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ are used in different contexts, and for a variety of purposes, it opens up critical questions about mobility, citizenship and the nation state. Collectively, these contributions aim to demonstrate how problematising migration and its categorisation can be a tool of enquiry into other phenomena and processes

Transit Migration: A blurred and politicized concept

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Paths into Irregularity. The Legal and Political Construction of Irregular Migration

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Centring on the margins : migration control in Malta, Cyprus and the European Union

Why does the European Union focus on controlling irregular immigration at the external border? The emphasis presents a paradox as most irregular migrants in the EU arrive through legal channels and subsequently overstay or violate the conditions of their visa. In order to explore this paradox, the thesis examines two case studies, Malta and Cyprus. As small island states on the Union’s southern periphery, the two are ostensibly unable to resist the transfer of migration controls and asylum responsibility to the EU’s external borders. Yet, employing nonmaterial power, namely by highlighting the perceived migration pressures they are under, the two states have successfully attracted significant financial and practical support from other member states. In doing so, they have influenced policymaking within EU migration governance, but have ultimately reinforced the emphasis on controlling irregular immigration at the external border by portraying the phenomenon as a crisis. This thesis not only sheds light on the interaction between the EU and the two states under investigation, but combines three levels of analysis – the regional, national, and local. The crisis narrative detrimentally affects the migrant and refugee populations as it encourages the adoption of restrictive and deterrent measures rather than ensuring access to rights and long-term integration. Nevertheless, this population is not without agency. It is their individual decisions to move across national borders without state authorisation that in the aggregate both compels states into dialogue about the issue and provides the basis for the dynamic between the EU and these two member states.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo