Irregular Immigration in the European Union : The Adoption and Implementation of the Controversial Returns Directive
The European Union has always defended the expulsion of undocumented migrants. For that purpose, it adopted in 2008 the so-called Returns Directive. The Directive provides with common standards and procedures in Member States for returning irregularly staying third-country nationals. Among the measures that Member States can apply there are the detention up to 18 months of irregular migrants or the imposition of a re-entry ban for five years. Thus, the Directive encountered fierce criticism, coming from different international organizations and states. Are the criticisms fair or misguided聽? What is happening in practice聽? In order to answer to this question it is necessary to look at some of the most controversial provisions and the way in which they are being implemented in some countries such as Spain or Italy.
The presentation will be followed by a discussion.
Diego Acosta is currently a last year Law PhD student at Kings College and visiting lecturer and tutor at King's College, Birkbeck College and BPP in London. He holds a degree in Law (Madrid), LLM in European Law (Stockholm) and DEA in Public International Law (Miami, Madrid). He has interned and worked for the United Nations (New York), the European Parliament (Brussels) and the Spanish Embassy (Bogot谩, Colombia) on issues related with immigration, subject on which he has published several papers.
Presented by the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law.