From the migration crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, (im)possible regularization of migrants in Italy and Spain

Abstract

The reception of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in camps has become a common phenomenon in Europe, discursively linked to the historical ‘crisis’ of mass movements towards the region. Camps and irregularity are two key issues in understanding the special impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on migrants and refugees. This article explores connections between the ‘campization’ of migrant and refugee reception and the current debates for and against migrant regularization in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Europe (Spain and Italy). The analysis uses qualitative methodology based on multi-site ethnographic fieldwork (pre-COVID-19 pandemic); informal remote interviews with migrants and refugees; and analysis of political, media and legislative discourses.