Irregular Migration: Factors and Policies That Influence Irregular Migration from Sub-Saharan Africa to the EU

Abstract

Over the past decades, there has been an increase in the number of African asylum seekers applying for international protection in the European Union (EU). In 2015, more than one million people crossed the Mediterranean Sea, risking their lives to reach European soil. African asylum seekers and other irregular migrants now find themselves at the centre of the political debate on immigration in Europe. Although human migration is not a new development in our world today, how people migrate, where people migrate to, the routes people migrate by, and the consequences of their migration have generated different perspectives on migration, especially irregular migration. This article aims to explore the causes and motivations of African asylum-seekers who enter Europe to seek international protection. The study will then robustly examine the EU policies that seek to reduce the number of African asylum seekers who arrive in the EU, focusing on the EU Border Management Agency (FRONTEX) and the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). It proceeds to consider these policies in light of the experiences of asylum seekers who have encountered them firsthand. The study will conclude by dismissing financial aid as a means of reducing the number of African asylum seekers arriving in the EU and will make a recommendation as to how the EU might address this issue.