Irregular migration and deterrence on the West African Route: insularity and border control in Spain (2020-2024)

This article examines irregular migration along the West African route between 2020 and 2024 and its relationship with border control policies implemented from the Canary Islands. It aims to identify who is migrating, how they are doing so, and why this route has been reactivated. Drawing on official and unofficial statistics, interviews with migrants, agents, and experts, and non-participant direct observation, the study analyses the migration process and the control strategies applied. Two phases of deterrence practices are identified: temporary confinement on the islands during the initial years and coercive deterrence in countries of origin in the more recent period. In addition to characterising the deterrence models implemented, the article makes a novel contribution by exploring how the peripheral insularity of the Canary Islands has been taken into account in the design of border control policy.