Migration regimes and border controls: the crisis in Europe

This chapter explores the diversity of migration regimes with reference to unaccompanied child migrants to reveal how they are forced to navigate complex legal systems, and the regulatory frameworks that are supposed to provide them with support and protection, but which all too often fail to deliver. The first section examines the role of scale in the development and implementation of migration regulations for unaccompanied youth. The chapter then considers border practices and the effects of off-shoring to process migrants applying for asylum, or as an attempt to reduce immigration. The chapter then focuses on the case of unaccompanied minors who came to Calais as part of their intended journey to the UK. The chapter argues that laws which are supposed to protect unaccompanied young people are not implemented in full, and that young people are not able to access the support which would enable them to benefit from these laws.