This book chapter covers the emergence of the regional and interregional governance of irregular migration in the context of Europe and the Americas. The chapter argues that the focus of the emerging governance has been predominantly on security, to the detriment of the human rights of irregular migrants.
The author discusses the concepts of irregular migration and illegal migration. ‘Illegal migration’ is defined as clandestine entry, overstaying or irregular employment. It covers serious offences, such as falsifying documents. According to the author, irregular migration is often conflated with refugees, asylum seekers, migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The research methodology is not explicitly discussed but appears to have consisted of a review of recent policy developments in Europe and the Americas on irregular migration.
The chapter explains that, despite the development of an array of new policy initiatives to combat irregular migration, the number of irregular migrants has not decreased. Looking specifically at the Americas, the chapter notes that immigration policies have had little or even no discernible effect on the overall flow of migrants who enter a country illegally and, instead, have had significant unintended consequences, such as the settlement and constant increase of the irregular immigrant population in the United States.
The chapter finds that the dynamics of regionalization processes in the field of irregular migration are complex. A number of patterns are identified: a receiving country approaches a transit or sending country, arguing that they have an irregular migration problem because the other country does not properly secure its borders; the International Organization for Migration or another actor explains to a government that it has a problem with irregular migration; or a transit or receiving country believes that it has problems with irregular migration and invites others to address the issue.
The chapter concludes that the governance of irregular migration combines a number of paradigms that aim at the prevention of irregular migration, at frustrating irregular migrants’ journeys and their return home. The author concludes that these controls lead irregular migrants to cross international borders in increasingly hazardous ways, which raises important ethical issues for such policies.
The chapter makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on irregular migration through its analysis of irregular migration and migration policy development in the two case study regions.
