Why trying to deter migrants from coming doesn’t work
Restrictive measures and scare tactics do little but bring harm to migrants and host countries.
As conflict, violence, and disaster continue to increase migration rates, countries have enacted harsh measures in an effort to deter migrants. Below, I highlight three of those failed strategies. Ultimately, they offer further justification of what we already know—that we need consolidated, global action to identify and address the root causes of migration.
Criminalizing Migrants—Case study: Greece
Just last month, an asylum seeker in Greece was a given a 142-year prison sentence for charges of migrant smuggling to the Island of Lesbos. Hanad Mohammad was onboard a vessel en route to Greece last December when the paid smuggler driving the boat abandoned ship. In an attempt to save the passengers onboard, Mohammad took control of the wheel in an act of bravery that spared the lives of 31 others. When the vessel reached Lesbos, Mohammad was arrested for “smuggling” the migrants. Unfortunately, cases like Mohammad’s are not isolated. Greece has ramped up its punishment and criminalization of migrants entering the country by sea or land. In many cases, trials occur with limited witness testimony or legal support. These criminalization efforts reflect a prime example of migration deterrence.
So far this year, data shows that Greece has received upwards of 3,500 migrants by sea and land. There isn’t clear evidence to suggest that Greece’s deterrence tactics have definitively reduced migration rates.
Punishing Citizens—Case study: Hungary
In the summer of 2018, Hungarian leadership signed into force a law proposed by parliament that sought to make seeking asylum virtually impossible. The law criminalized the efforts of citizens or groups (including NGOs) assisting migrants and refugees. Any such acts were punishable by up to 12 months in jail. Ironically, Hungary’s swift, legal changes came into effect on World Refugee Day.
A Human Rights Watch report condemned Hungary’s actions—highlighting that they were less about security, as the government claimed, and more about invoking a nationalist agenda.
Ultimately, Hungary’s strategy of punishing citizens only increased the burden on its EU counterparts—shunning the importance of responsibility-sharing across the EU.
Family Detention and Separation—Case study: U.S.
From 2016 until 2020, the Trump Administration set into motion migration deterrence strategies on the southern border. Family detention and separation measures, in addition to the construction of the now infamous southern border wall, were among the most notable “Zero Tolerance” strategies.
Recent analysis shows that family detention and separation policies did not, in fact, deter families from coming to the USA. In some of the holding centers housing separated children, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported that expenses were reaching up to $775 per child, per night. The department challenged that the costs could be offset by simply keeping children with their families and even moving them to more permanent buildings.
This demonstrates that family separation as a deterrence was both costly and ineffective. The Trump Administration’s deterrence policies demonstrate a “high costs for low gains” approach that did not address long-term solutions or root causes.
While the Biden Administration has shifted course to addressing the migration crisis from a more sustainable approach, migrants continue to arrive in historic numbers, including unaccompanied children—demonstrating that the drivers of migration are critically stronger than the threat of deterrence strategies.
It is imperative to recognize the benefits of adopting policies that address the drivers of migration, rather than reactionary measures that simply don’t work.
