Unauthorized Migration and the Politics of Regularization, Legalization, and Amnesty

Abstract

Unauthorized migration is a major component of labour migration and a function of the opportunities for regular migration.1 Facing the choice between ignoring the underground economy or attempting to control it, states constantly adjust their policies regarding residence and employment rights. As industrialized state’s reduced legal avenues of labour migration in the 1970s, the international response generally focused on humanitarian concerns and the rights of workers, portraying unauthorized migrants as victims rather than law-breakers or criminals. Nevertheless, northern European states began sharpening their administrative controls. The introduction and expansion of the Schengen system in 1985, which removed border controls between various European states, resulted in enhanced cooperation regarding control of the common external border as well as changes in the administration of third country nationals, including unauthorized migrants. Driven by a combination of humanitarian concerns, labour market needs, and a relative lack of administrative capacity compared with northern European states (which had earlier pursued similar policies), southern European states such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal enacted a series of large-scale immigration amnesties and regularization campaigns. These programmes prompted arguments that legalization should not be regarded as a way of managing migration flows but should be confined to exceptional situations. This chapter explores the political response to unauthorized migration, focusing on the shifting legality of migration over time and paying particular attention to the case of Spain within the context of southern European states attempting to balance