Immigration into Europe and public policy: do stops really work?

Abstract

"Using Italy as a case study, this article explores whether attempts to stop immigration can ever be effective. What it shows is that, contrary to public opinion, strict controls are not necessarily effective. Moreover, there is no evidence that the position of existing migrants improves when controls are increased. On the contrary, strict controls are associated with undermining the position of existing minorities. Such policies are particularly likely to generate the assumption that citizenship rights can only be available on ascriptive criteria."