How Should Migrant Smuggling be Confronted?

Migrant smuggling is seen as antithetical to safe, orderly and regular migration. In fact, the fight against migrant smuggling stands out as a point of agreement in an otherwise fractured policy field. This apparent unity obscures disparate motivations for counter-smuggling measures. Traditionally, concerns about illegal work and residence have been prominent. More recently, the fight against migrant smuggling is also driven by states’ desire to minimize the obligations that follow from the 1951 refugee convention. These are just two out of eight motivations identified in the paper. The eight motivations for counter-smuggling efforts differ with respect to explicitness and legitimacy. Insufficient clarity of purpose makes it more challenging to develop a sound response. Counter-smuggling strategies can be divided between those that seek to suppress the supply of smuggling services and those that seek to suppress demand. The conventional law-enforcement approach concentrates on curbing supply. Sustainable solutions are only possible with a reduced demand for migrant smuggling services. But demand-oriented policy approaches go to the heart of migration management and raise political, legal, economic, and ethical dilemmas.