Europe’s Immigration Problem
As refugees come to the border, Europe rethinks its policies
Libya is a country plagued by civil war — and a country that hundreds of thousands want to leave as soon as possible. Their solution is simple: reach the European coast, and you will have the rights afforded to migrants and asylum seekers. It’s the driving factor behind the ships that set sail across the Mediterranean.
To some Europeans, migrants are a problem — once they reach the coast, they are the responsibility of the European governments. They must respond, in some way, and with journalists around, their actions will be scrutinized.
So Europe began considering plans to prevent the migrants from reaching the coast in the first place. A simple plan — train forces in Africa to prevent migrants from getting close. Take the responsibility from the hands of Europe and into the hands of paramilitary groups.
As far back as the mid-aughts, Europe had already set some plans in action. Camps in North Africa to hold migrants were constructed or considered, with the cooperation of many North African governments. It received ample pushback at the time, and Europe was not dealing with an immigration flood, so plans were shelved, or scaled down.
And then, the Arab Spring began, and Europe began to see migrant ships dotting the horizons. The collapse of African and Middle Eastern governments, the dramatic reorganizing of many societies, forced thousands to move to other countries in search for some better life — and Europe was step one. While many hoped to come to the US, the first step was always reestablishing across the Mediterranean.
The issue that Europe saw was the same it had seen in the past — any migrants who reached the shores needed significantly more attention than those who did not make the crossing. But in 2015, the numbers of migrants spiked to a new high, and European leaders began to get worried.
They began with a deal. The Turkish government was contacted, and the framework was set in place. As long as Turkey kept Syrian immigrants within their borders, the EU would pay some monetary compensation. In essence, by taking in Syrian immigrants, Turkey would provide a buffer, and with EU funds, could begin to process the influxes, all while the EU kept it’s hands clean of the problem.
While the agreement was successful, it also came with a share of problems — most notably, the surges of Syrian immigrants in non-EU centers, without the rights offered to asylum seekers in the EU. Human rights groups the world over criticized the deal heavily, pointing out the squalid conditions that Turkish camps were offering to their inhabitants.
As the deal came up for re-negotiation in 2021, rights groups rallied against it, hoping that the EU would stop working with Turkey. It was mostly unsuccessful, as most EU member states were unwilling to deal with 2015-era immigration numbers, and it was far easier to export that problem to Turkey.
The problem, then, became enacting this policy in other states. Immigrants from war-torn regions in Libya were not going through the Turkish barrier, and so, Europe started looking for a new partner to handle the waves — the solution presented itself in the unstable, EU recognized government of Libya. The Civil War had left the country in crisis, with the government only in control of the Libyan capitol of Tripoli.
But the EU plan was the same as before — let the Libyan government do the work, and then reap the rewards. But if Turkey wasn’t safe, Libya was a disaster. Libyan camps were nightmarish in their conditions, and trusting the corrupt and divided Libyan military to handle refugees created a breeding ground for abuse. Migrant numbers dropped, but deaths increased. The sea crossings were getting more dangerous, and aid groups were fighting with the Libyan navy to save migrants before they were sent back to Africa. Rights groups have again voiced their opposition to this deal, but the EU seems unwilling to budge.
Europe has spent the last decade dealing with the fallout of African and Middle Eastern chaos, and that fallout has included increased immigration. While their policies worked on paper, they’ve made the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrants far worse, as many are faced with the dismal prospects of Libyan or Turkish camps. The situation is complex, but it raises one important question — to what extent is a country responsible for its allies actions?
