1 Securitization of migrationCCME/CEC Summer School in Human Rights, 2– Palermo Talvikki Ahonen / University of Eastern Finland & Finnish Ecumenical Council

2 Violent borders 3 700 migrants died at the Mediterranean 2015, and on 2016 In many cases the bodies are never found Outer borders of the EU: the most dangerous borders in the world Source: IOM

3 Violent borders, security & securitizationAND STILL: migrants themselves are portrayed as a threat to Europe Security as a fundamental value  security issues are often prioritized  narrative is a very powerful tool When talking about security, whose security are we talking about? What threats migrants are assumed to cause? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkRRdth8AHc

4 Security, threats, and fearsWhat threats/fears immigration is assumed to cause? Socio-economic threats Cultural threats Existential threat Threat to domestic/internal security

5 Criminalization of migrants: undocumentednessLabeling undocumented as ”illegals” is insincere for multiple reasons: People move from one legal status to other, sometimes often and quickly Lines between categories of migrants are in reality blurred (forced vs. voluntary migration; economic migration etc.) State’s ability to recognize all ”real” refugees is not perfect; assumed uniformity of the EU asylum system Undocumented are in the most precarious situation in the society

6 Criminalization of acts of solidarityThe EU states combat ”illegal immigration” by framing it as ”smuggling”  criminalization of humanitarian aid e.g. members of NGO’s have been arrested for sea rescue as ”smugglers” Often it’s migrants who get involved in facilitating border crossings! Photo: Sara Prestianni, Noborders Network

7 Churches’ counter strategiesTheological reflections of migration: Christians’ identity as ”migrants” Not only technical/legislative notion on human rights! Human beings are first and foremost images of God Questioning discourses and narratives that distort facts and violate the agency of migrants, raising awareness

8 Conclusions Framing migration as a security issue conceals societal problems that are caused by the state/society The cycle of securitization: securitarian discourses legitimate the use of security technologies, which in turn sustain the legitimacy of those discourses Security can (and should) be an argument for less restrictive migration policies!

9 Literature Brazal, A. & Guzman, E Intercultural church: bridge of solidarity in the migration context. Borderless press Greussing, E. & Boomgarten, H Shifting the refugee narrative. An automated frame analysis of Europe’s 2015 refugee crisis. Journal of ethnic and migration studies. Chebel d’Appollonia, A Frontiers of fear: immigration and insecurity in the United States and Europe. Calandrino, T. The emergence of legal trope of ”smuggling” and its consequences. Available at: Chebel d’Appollonia, A Xenophobia, racism and the securitization of immigration. Bourbeau, P. (edit.) (2017). Handbook on migration and security. Günay, C. & Witjes, N. (edit.) Border politics: defining spaces of governance and forms of transgressions. Cham: Springer. Huysmans, J The European union and the securitization of migration. Journal of common market studies 38 (5), 751–77. Zapata-Barrero, R. & Gabrielli, L Ethics and the securitization of migration: reversing the current policy framework. Bourbeau, P. (edit.) (2017). Handbook on migration and security.