9. Seaborne Bordering: Legal Negotiations on Boats and Boat-Migrants in EU Border Policies

The previous section examined the powerful image of the refugee boat by describing the extent to which the vessel’s recurring attributes of being small, overcrowded and unseaworthy go beyond a mere technical assessment of a vessel’s suitability to move on water. I have illustrated that the image together with the vessel’s attributes call forth assumptions and fantasies about the condition and origin of its passengers and their political status, as well as the organization of the journey, thus opening up the possibility to valuate and classify the status and ambitions of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe. This chapter focuses on legal reasoning advanced in EU border policies toward migrants and refugees encountered at sea. When in 2000 (and explicitly in 2004) Michael Pugh considered it justified to apply the term boat-people to the context of maritime migration to the EU, he did so in order “to distinguish their status in law and political discourse” (Pugh 2004: 51). Yet, what distinguishes the status of boat-people from that of other migrants and refugees? Pugh’s formulation suggests that it is, in fact, the vehicle that makes the difference. However, others observe a blurring (Inhetveen 2010: 155) or nullifying (Budz 2009) effect of the vehicle on the legal status of its passengers. This section explores the vessel’s share in the legal argumentations of EU border enforcement measures.