The power of incentives with illegal migration

At the end of June the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported. A few weeks later 60,000 people from Morocco crossed in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, almost doubling their population in a few days.

People smugglers exploit situations. This is why you need harsh preventive measures. Australia saw over 20,000 people a year trying to enter Australia by sea. Howard started intercepting the boats at sea and not letting them into Australia. The left said he was a criminal, ignoring that hundreds died at sea trying to make the journey, and the hardline policy saw the number of attempted entries fall by over 95%.

Same in the US. There’s lot to criticise Trump for when it comes to ICE. But he saw the number of illegal arrivals fall 90% from 2.2 million to 240,000 – a 50 year low. If people know that an illegal crossing will mean they get to spent years in a country while the immigration system hears their case, they will take that risk.

We have no idea how lucky we are to be so remote, and no land borders.

Ceuta shows what happens when you provide an incentive for illegal crossings. They occur!