Overcoming Liberal Constraints in the Field of Migrant Return: Re-establishing Political Control over Borders at the Cost of Fundamental Rights?

Abstract

Questions of migration control have long been of central concern to wealthy Western states that attract large numbers of new immigrants. While border control measures aimed at deciding who is allowed to enter state territory and who is prevented from doing so are generally accepted as a legitimate sovereign prerogative, the removal of resident non-citizens tends to be far more controversial. In liberal democracies, return enforcement has therefore traditionally been considered a measure of last resort, rather than a normal policy option. More recently, however, there has been a restrictive turn in debates about migrant return across Europe. The chapter first introduces the notion of liberal constraints and calls into question established accounts that remain limited to normative and institutional understandings of the term. Instead, it points to the possible reframing of normative constraints as practical obstacles, which can in turn be overcome through technical policy innovations. Then it provides an empirical account of the strategies that the EU, the International Organization for Migration and the UK have pursued to overcome or circumvent obstacles to migrant return implementation, and highlights instances of technocratization and institutionalization as two key mechanisms in this process. In conclusion, it argues that enhanced return capacities entail a shift from spatial to temporal migration control that requires more critical attention.