Irregular migration and the role of local and regional authorities
Irregular migration and the role of local and regional authorities

Author(s): Dirk Gebhardt
Subject(s): Migration Studies, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: CEPS Centre for European Policy Studies
Keywords: The Stockholm Programme; fundamental rights; undocumented migrants; irregular migration;
Summary/Abstract: The Stockholm Programme has answered the question of fundamental rights for undocumented migrants and the role of cities with silence on two accounts: not only did the StockholmProgramme fail to address the fundamental rights issue of irregular migration, it also said little about the role of cities in migration policy in a more general sense. Nevertheless, irregular migrants in cities are a reality. Judging from estimates provided by cities, undocumented migrants represent for example between 3% and 6% of the population in Ghent, Genoa and Rotterdam. According to the estimates of a study by the London School of Economics commissioned by the mayor of London, the numbers are as high as 440,000 in London – a population group as large as that of a medium-sized city, living in a highly precarious legal situation.

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