By Leone Ansems de Vries, Sergio Carrera, and Elspeth Guild Migration Crisis in the Mediterranean Spaces of Transit, Migration Management, and Migrant Agency By Leone Ansems de Vries, Sergio Carrera, and Elspeth Guild Joe Kinkopf

What is the Migrant Crisis? Migration of millions of refugees from the Middle East and Africa into Europe. They pass through both institutional and informal points looking for asylum. Institutional transit points are where people are screened, transited and protected. Informal transit points are points settlements or transit points caused by either push back points or continually displaced refugees.

Politics vs. Humanitarianism Two Main Issues What is the trajectory of the migrants and how are they handled? Migration management is increasingly coercive. For both institutional and informal transit points. Police violence; Destruction of living space; Denial of asylum.

Migrant CRISIS Crisis label led to rapid, informal, and flexible policy making. Framed Migrants as negative Prevented people from moving within the EU. Caused people to cumulate in places like Calais, France. Take more dangerous routes to/within Europe. Displaced people with ‘Push Back’ and borders

Author Policy Recommendation 1 View migrants as subjects with agency. Create a new EU system of sharing responsibility regarding the assessment of asylum applications. Do not amend EU asylum regulation to allow more coercion and loosen current EU legal standards.

Institutional Transit Points: Transit->Detention Increased border control have caused long term settlements in Italy, Greece, and Calais, France Less people are being transited, more are being detained or deported.

Rejection and Deportation Migrants are screen at check points and borders In Italy, papers are only available in Italian Migrants are turned away before they can apply for asylum

Author’s Policy Recommendation 2 Ensure everyone I allowed to meet with a legal advisor, and everyone who seeks asylum has the opportunity to apply for it. EU should issue legislation covering specifics of how to handle hotspots in compliance to the European Asylum law and EU charter. Monitor how hotspots in Greece and Italy have operated and evaluate how they have operated compared to the EU legal and rule of law standards.

Informal Points: Destruction of Living Space Increased Violence in informal channels Push Backs in Calais put refugees in a cycle of displacement. Police violence efforts to break up communities Doesn’t get rid of refugees, just worsens their hardships.

Author Policy Recommendation 3 Promote migrants being viewed as agents with Agency Ensure reception conditions and effective remedies are ensured and duly implemented by all EU member states