The Role of Local Government in the Implementation of Immigration Policy

Abstract

Immigration is the movement of people to a country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship. In recent years, European countries have been experiencing uncontrolled influxes of migrants. To manage them, both the European Union (EU) as a supranational institution and its Member States as national entities have sought to establish an effective, humanitarian and safe immigration policy. They try to regulate the entry and stay of migrants in the country ensuring the absolute protection of the human and social rights of immigrants but at the same time the internal security and social tranquility of the countries hosting the migratory flows. The EU establishes the conditions for legal entry and residence, while Member States reserve the right to appoint the maximum number of immigrants to be admitted. Greece is a recipient of a large number of immigrants, mainly from the East, who cross the country's maritime borders into the Aegean and the land borders on Evros area. Therefore, the study of the country's immigration policy should answer key questions regarding the harmonization of Greek immigration policy in the Union's Directives and Regulations and, of course, its effectiveness. To answer these questions this paper lists and presents the relevant legal framework. The paper also, tries to evaluate the implementation of the legal framework. At the central level, the body implementing immigration policy is the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, which created the National Strategy for Social Inclusion and awarded the Local Government Organizations the key role in implementing this strategy. The possibilities and the financial and institutional means available to Local Government Organizations in order to meet this role are also the subject of study and observations. The paper finds structural inadequacy of the Greek administration to effectively design and execute extensive immigration policy programs. Based on this finding, proposals for administrative reorganization are presented in order for the entire Greek state mechanism to be able to respond to the challenge of effective management of the growing migratory flows.