Migrant repatriations as a transatlantic challenge: Some legal, methodological and democratic considerations

Conducting repatriations of persons illegally staying on a territory is a problem that is common to the EU and the US. Despite this common challenge, legal differences and divergent administrative traditions make comparing the US and the EU experiences rather difficult. In addition, the differences in terminology and statistical methodologies make it impossible to directly compare repatriation rates. Still, comparisons can be made between the jurisdictions. One crucial difference is that the undocumented immigrant population is much bigger in the US than it is in the EU, in both absolute and relative terms. Similarities lie in the democratic imperative in both jurisdictions to repatriate those staying illegally. However, repatriations also tend to be ineffective in both jurisdictions. Internally, this is due to a lack of administrative and judicial capacity and a lack of cooperation between domestic agencies. Externally, both jurisdictions face the barrier of the countries of origin being reluctant to readmit their nationals.