Immigration's Enigma Principle: Protection and Paradox

10 Pages Posted: 22 Nov 2015

See all articles by David A. Martin

David A. Martin

University of Virginia School of Law

Date Written: November 1, 2015

Abstract

This paper, the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Center for Migration Studies in late October 2015, reflects on lessons from the current European refugee drama and more broadly on the realistic but paradoxical constraints that inherently apply to the use of protection mechanisms. It begins by drawing a set of lessons about structural protection limits from the movie The Imitation Game, which depicted dilemmas faced by the team that cracked the codes used in the Nazis’ Enigma Machine. It then ties those lessons to remarks by David Miliband, former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom and now head of the International Rescue Committee, emphasizing the need for both compassion and competence in responding to refugee crises. Using that framework, it analyzes modern Germany’s August policy announcing acceptance of Syrian refugees on strikingly generous terms. Chancellor Merkel genuinely deserves high marks for compassion, but much more should have been done to think through likely consequences and to provide competently for the flow. Europe’s rather automatic and unreflective choice to address the crisis largely within the classic continental model of spontaneous asylum seeking has meant that applicants must make their own way to the destination country, often on foot – a method that imperils asylum-seekers, alienates transit countries, and fuels anti-immigrant backlash. A different model, orderly departure as part of a facilitated resettlement regime, coupled with a reversal of deep budget shortfalls for sustenance and shelter in the region of origin, deserved attention as an alternative – and may well ultimately become the framework for a more realistic Syrian refugee program. The migration system will eventually find a new equilibrium, but the current strains, including unrealistically ambitious legal doctrine, may produce long-term setbacks for refugee protection and European unity.

Keywords: refugees, humanitarian protection, Syria, Germany, Angela Merkel, Clinton, interdiction, backlash, European Union, human rights

Suggested Citation

Martin, David A., Immigration's Enigma Principle: Protection and Paradox (November 1, 2015). Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 63, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2693100 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2693100

David A. Martin (Contact Author)

University of Virginia School of Law ( email )

580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
434-924-3144 (Phone)
434-924-7536 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
158
Abstract Views
1,175
Rank
338,002
PlumX Metrics