The Securitization of Illegal Immigration in European Policies: Motives and Implications

Abstract

Illegal immigration is one of the key threats faced by European countries mid-way through the first decade of the new millennium. The continued flow of vast numbers of migrants by both legal and illegal means has triggered phobias and racism in European societies. European governments have tried to deal with the issue by taking a security approach, recruiting all possible manner of oppressive police methods and deterrence laws to tackle the phenomenon. The issue of migration has now become fully 'securitized.' The migration issue began as the result of several internal and external factors. The external factors included the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2011 and their role in promoting accusations of terrorisms against Muslims, who account for a large proportion of migrants bound for Europe. Internal factors include exploitation of the migration phenomenon by far-right parties that seek to link migration to negative phenomena like organized crime and terrorism. This had a correspondingly negative effect on the rights of migrants, which are stipulated in international conventions and treaties. Foremost of these is the right to political asylum, an essential right that has since come under severe restriction by European countries that seek to fully eliminate it. Securitizing migration has also impacted relations between migrants and host societies, which have grown increasingly xenophobic, rejecting everything foreign and rallying around nationalist slogans, giving credence to claims of a 'clash of civilization.