Criminalisation of Irregular Migration in Europe

Matilde Rosina is Fellow in International Migration at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Her research focuses on irregular migration, with specific reference to the European context. Matilde obtained her award-winning PhD in International Political Economy from King’s College London, having received scholarships from the Luigi Einaudi Foundation and the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe. Before joining LSE, Matilde lectured at City, University of London, and at Fordham University.

• Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Globalisation and irregular migration.- Chapter 3. Deterrence in international migration: Between IPE and criminology.- Chapter 4. Criminalising migration in Europe.- Chapter 5. Italy: From tough rhetoric to counter-productive consequences.- Chapter 6. France: Between instrumentalization, courts, and marginalisation.- Chapter 7. The effects and counter-effects of criminalisation: On skinny balloons and vicious cycles.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.

“The book will be appealing to diverse audiences in criminology, IPE, international relations and migration studies. It will be equally interesting to policymakers, to whom the author sends a clear message: the only way to reduce irregular migration is to decriminalise it, be honest about Europe’s systemic demand for foreign labour and above all create legal pathways for foreign nationals to safely reach Europe for both humanitarian and economic reasons” (Daniela Movileanu, The International Spectator, April 3, 2024)“This book Rosina uses Italy and France as case studies to investigate the meaning, purpose, practice and consequences of criminalising unauthorised entry and stay. The book provides a compelling case that the criminalisation of irregular migration does not have a sizeable deterrent effect and that in the case of Italy and France the penalties are rarely used. … The author uses exclusively descrip­tive statistics to describe trends in the data.” (Akira Soto-Nishimura, European Journal of Migration and Law, Vol. 25 (3), August, 2023)