The German elections on 23 February will be yet another in which anti-migration rhetoric dominates. Spurred on by the rise of the populist radical right, demanding drastic measures like border controls have become the norm for European centre parties. However, research shows that closing borders does very little to curb migration. In fact, it can even increase it.
Julia Reinold | 10 February 2025
The end of open borders?
Politicians often blame open borders for losing control over migration. It is no coincidence that they take aim at Schengen, the agreement that famously established open borders in Europe, to get a grip on migration. As Europe celebrates 40 years of Schengen, there are more internal border controls than ever.
Currently, a third of the Schengen states have border controls in place, mainly citing migration as a core reason. While Europe’s internal borders are closing, Europe’s external borders are even more hermetically sealed off. The outside borders of the Schengen zone are the deadliest in the world, with an estimated 71.000 people having died in attempts to reach Europe since 1993, especially across the Mediterranean. Fortress Europe, indeed.
Not only are these restrictions on migration destructive, evidence shows that they are mostly symbolic and, in fact, counterproductive.
Persistent myths
A major problem is that much of the politics on migration is founded on a misunderstanding, wilful or not, of migration and migrants. Politicians like to amplify the idea of migrants as a threat, of people crossing borders uncontrolled and illegally. Yet irregular migrants and asylum seekers only make up a very small share of migrants.
In many cases, moreover, migration is not permanent or linear. Think about exchange students, highly mobile expats and refugees, who will return to their country of origin when the opportunity presents itself. Closing borders can disrupt these circular, return, and onward movements.
Spurred on by these misunderstandings, European states may close borders and restrict migration all they will. But such measures often have unintended consequences and can actually drive up migration rather than curb it. Here are three reasons why.
Why closing borders doesn’t stop migration
First, closing borders can lead to so-called ‘now-or-never’ spikes in migration. People who consider migrating worry that it’ll become more difficult or impossible to move to the destination country in the future and, therefore, decide to leave before it is too late. Paradoxically, then, closing borders may attract migrants.
Second, migrants already in the destination country may decide to stay permanently out of fear that they cannot return once they leave. Closed borders undercut the often circular nature of migration. Certain groups of labour migrants, like seasonal workers, tend to prefer to come and go rather than stay permanently. As politicians and media obsess over who comes in, we have a blind spot for those who leave again on their own volition.
Third, closing borders doesn’t stop people who face economic, political or humanitarian hardship from wanting to migrate. Far from giving up on their objectives, they will look for new, often more dangerous and costly, routes across land and sea. It increases their dependency on smugglers and risks of dying along the way. Fortress Europe will, therefore, continue to claim high numbers of casualties, while it’s unlikely that the number of migrants coming in is going to decrease.
Let’s talk benefits of migration
Given that closing borders is futile at best and fatal at worst, we need to rethink borders and the migrants who cross them. A new narrative about migration starts with the acknowledgement that migration is an integral part of the human experience. Closing borders does not address any of the challenges it is claimed to. Restrictive migration policies are often ineffective, costly, and undermine Europe’s core values.
From there, we should start talking about the benefits of open borders and migration. Migration brings economic, social and cultural opportunities to migrants and host countries. It is high time that politicians and media started recognising this fact.
Studio Europa Maastricht x The European Correspondent: This article is part of an opinion piece series on the future of Europe and the Europe that could be. It’s produced in a collaboration between Studio Europa Maastricht and The European Correspondent.
Dr. Julia Reinold is a migration researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam and affiliated with Maastricht University’s Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cooperation and Mobility (ITEM) and Studio Europa Maastricht.
