Conclusion

This concluding chapter establishes that compared to the total number of migrants, the number of undesirable but unremovable migrants is small and the hardship faced by most of them arguably limited. At the same time, the political impact of criminal migrants in limbo cannot be underestimated. In the name of clearing the streets of criminal migrants, almost any measure now seems permissible. There are no indications that the politicisation of undesirable but unremovable migrants in the Global North will subside anytime soon. Many of the modern ‘solutions’ to deal with our unwanted are effectively non-solutions, but the book concludes that a radically new or transformative approach is unlikely to be accepted politically. Recognition of the complexity of the issue of undesirable but unremovable migrants is increasingly under threat, the greatest danger lying in reducing the problem to something to be pragmatically and transactionally managed by executive branches without public oversight. Crafting policies regarding UBUs involves profound moral, legal, and emotional considerations that must remain subject to public deliberation.