Homecoming: the Return and Reintegration of Irregular Migrants from Nigeria Executive Summary
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homecoming RetuRn and ReintegRation of iRRegulaR MigRants fRoM nigeRia REPORT Jenny Pennington and Brhmie Balaram April 2013 © IPPR 2013 Institute for Public Policy Research about the authoRs Jenny Pennington is a researcher at IPPR. Brhmie Balaram is a research assistant at IPPR. acknowledgMents The authors would like to thank the field researchers who carried out the interviews with this hard to access group: Lilian Ezenwa, Ruth Bukar, Aliyu Yakubu, Abdulganiyu Abubakar and colleagues at the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC). Without their determined work this research would not have been possible. Thank you to Judith-Ann Walker, Nkiru Duru and colleagues at the dRPC for their work coordinating the research and their invaluable comments and analysis. Thanks are due to our steering group in Nigeria, project advisory group, and other project partners – Eaves, PICUM, CCME and the University of Sussex – for their support with the research. We would also like to thank Myriam Cherti, Sarah Mulley and Graeme Cooke at IPPR for their comments and input into the final report. Finally, we would like to thank those who took part in the research. about iPPR about the PRoject IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research, is the ‘Beyond irregularity’ is a major international project led by IPPR UK’s leading progressive thinktank. We produce which focuses on irregular and transit migration from sub-Saharan rigorous research and innovative policy ideas for a fair, Africa through Morocco to the European Union. The project has five democratic and sustainable world. partners: Sussex Centre for Migration Research at Sussex University, UK; Eaves Housing for Women Ltd, UK; Platform for International We are open and independent in how we work, and Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Belgium; the with offices in London and the North of England, IPPR Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Morocco; and spans a full range of local and national policy debates. the Development Research and Project Centre (DRPC) in Nigeria. Our international partnerships extend IPPR’s influence and reputation across the world. For more, please visit http://www.ippr.org/research-project/44/7143/ beyond-irregularity-towards-a-sustainable-approach-to-dealing- IPPR with-irregular-migration-from-sub-saharan-africa-to-europe 4th Floor 14 Buckingham Street London WC2N 6DF this project is funded by the european union T: +44 (0)20 7470 6100 E: [email protected] www.ippr.org Registered charity no. 800065 This paper was first published in April 2013. © 2013 The contents and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) only. also supported by project partner PoSiTiVe iDeAS for chAnge Contents Executive summary ......................................................................................................2 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................6 1.1 Background to the study .......................................................................................6 1.2 Understanding return and reintegration ..................................................................9 1.3 Methods ...............................................................................................................9 1.4 The structure of the report ..................................................................................10 2. Irregular migrants: Here, there and back again ......................................................12 2.1 Moving abroad ...................................................................................................12 2.2 Life in the country of destination ..........................................................................15 2.3 Moving home .....................................................................................................16 2.4 Reintegration ......................................................................................................23 3. The European response .........................................................................................29 3.1 Managing return .................................................................................................30 3.2 Encouraging voluntary return...............................................................................33 3.3 Supporting reintegration......................................................................................38 4. The Nigerian response ...........................................................................................41 4.1 Policy responses to return ...................................................................................41 4.2 Return and reintegration in practice .....................................................................42 4.3 Encouraging sustainability of return through mainstream work ..............................46 5. Conclusions and recommendations .......................................................................50 5.1 The problem: Return and reintegration policy does not work for anyone ...................50 5.2 Accepting return as a response to irregular migration ...........................................51 5.3 Support that makes return a viable and attractive option ......................................51 5.4 Support for reintegration beyond entrepreneurship ..............................................52 5.5 Addressing the wider drivers of re-migration ........................................................52 5.6 Identifying roles and responsibilities .....................................................................53 5.7 Recommendations for change ............................................................................54 References .................................................................................................................59 1 IPPR | Homecoming: The return and reintegration of irregular migrants from Nigeria exeCutive summary In 2008, the number of unauthorised immigrants residing within the EU was assessed as between 1.9 and 3.8 million (PICUM 2009).1 A sizeable proportion of these migrants are known to be Nigerian. Irregular migration from Nigeria to Europe is of great concern to Nigeria, countries in Europe and advocates of migrants’ rights. Irregular migration compromises Nigeria’s relationships with European governments, and forces authorities to devote resources to resettling returnees. It also brings European governments’ management of migration into question: when irregular migrants succeed in breaking immigration rules, it undermines the integrity of the immigration system as a whole. Migrants who fall outside of immigration laws often suffer exploitation, destitution and abuse while abroad, and many of them struggle to re-establish their lives in their country of origin on return. Authorities in countries with significant irregular migrant populations, including those in Europe, face three options – tolerate their presence, regularise their status, or return them to their countries of origin. While the return of irregular migrants may be more politically acceptable for European governments than regularising or tolerating them, it is very challenging from a diplomatic and policy point of view. Research has shown that unless return is followed by reintegration, large numbers of returnees – typically between half and two-thirds – think about leaving again. If European policy in this area wants to have success in the medium and long term it must put as much emphasis on reintegration as on return. Past attempts at returning irregular migrants from Europe have been small in scale, and characterised by legal wrangling and reliance on enforcement measures that have proven expensive, damaging and unpopular. Assisted voluntary return (AVR) schemes delivered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and other organisations across Europe provide an alternative. AVR schemes offer a package of return and reintegration support to irregular migrants who agree to return voluntarily, thereby incentivising return at a fraction of the cost of deportation, as well as encouraging successful reintegration. However, return through AVR accounts for only a minority of returns. Our research also demonstrates the ways in which irregular migrants are harmed by current return policies. Many of our interviewees had migrated as a means of improving their lives, but returned to a situation in which they were more disadvantaged than they had been when they left. Currently, responsibility for caring for destitute returnees often falls on small civil society organisations in Nigeria that do not have the funding or capacity to respond. Fortunately, it appears that Nigeria is aware of the challenges posed by irregular migration, both to its relationship with Europe and to its citizens. It is also aware of the opportunities that managed migration can offer. The Nigerian government is currently developing a national migration framework. While this is an important step, it is worth noting that very little data about the experiences of irregular migrants in Nigeria is currently available to inform this process. There is an urgent need for well-evidenced policy ideas that can be implemented by countries of both origin and destination. These must propose means by which European countries can move away from reliance on forced removal and ensure greater uptake of 1 The borders of the European Union (EU) were expanded as recently as January 2007 to encompass