Undocumented Migrants and Underground Work
Laboratorio Rosarno
Politecnico di Milano, 12 November 2010
11/12/10
Immigrants in Italy
Years
Immigrant population
% population
1981
320.778
0,57
1991
625.034
1,10
2001
1.334.889
2,34
2008
3.432.651
5,80
2010
4.235.059
Source: Istat
11/12/10
7,00
Irregular Migrants
A migrant is irregular if he doesn’t get regular
document that permit to live and work in a third
country. We can call their also undocumented
migrants.
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How many irregular migrants are in Italy?
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1990
1991
1992
1994
1995
1996
1998
2000
2002
2003
Sources: Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour and ISMU
11/12/10
2005
2006
2007
2008
How do the irregular immigrants enter in Italy?
Irregular immigrants in Italy classified by the access pathways (in %)
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Overstayers
59
61
51
75
67
60
64
Undocumented immigrants
entering across land or
through airports
24
27
34
15
29
26
23
Undocumented immigrants
shore-landing
17
12
15
10
4
14
13
Sources: Italian Ministry of Interior
11/12/10
Who are the overstayers?
The majority of irregular immigrants enter in Italy with a regular visa, to
then stay on once it has run out. This category, called overstayers, (in
France also distinguished between “faux étudiant, faux tourists”)
represents the real weak point in the chain of control.
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How do the overstayers enter in Italy?
Visa Uniform Schengen (VUS) 2001 – 2007
Years
VUS
Tourist VUS
% Tourist VUS of
total
Var. %
2001
723.346
422.947
2002
533.124
287.474
-47,13
53,92
2003
648.539
379.143
24,18
58,46
2004
737.893
454.437
16,57
61,59
2005
811.006
515.200
11,79
63,53
2006
947.916
623.180
17,33
65,74
2007
1.130.266
760.376
18,04
67,27
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
11/12/10
58,47
Why do the irregular immigrants want to come in Italy?
The pull factors
1.Family and social networks
2.Weakness of border checks
3.Regularisations
4.Underground Work
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Transnational Theory
Macro structures: include the political economy of the world market,
interstate relationship, the laws, structures and practices established by the
states of sending and receiving countries to control migration settlement.
Micro structures: are the informal social networks developed by the
migrants themselves.
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The social networks
“Migration decisions are not made by isolated individuals, but by families,
households or even communities.”… “Family linkages often provide the
financial, cultural and social capital which make migration possible, the
irregular migration too.” We can call Autonomy of Migration
“The age of Migration” by S. Castles and M. J. Miller
http://www.age-of-migration.com/
11/12/10
Turkish immigrants in Germany (in thousands)
Source: Statistischen Bundesamts Deutschland
11/12/10
Regularisations
Regularisation can be classified on the basis of differing criteria:
1. The first is the political-juridical ratio of each regularisation.
Regularisation can be divided in: A) pragmatic: that is to say, they take note
of objective given data and ,B) humanitarian: based on merit evaluation of
the conditions of the potential beneficiary;
2. The second criteria is that relative to the type of procedure that we can
distinguish in A) extraordinary and collective or, B) punctual with
permanent regularisation mechanisms based on the individual.
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Regularisations in Italy
In Italy the regularisations adopted have been 7 in 25 years (8 if we
consider the Quota system decree of 2006 ) and are of very high numbers
In Italy the choice of regularisation is linked also to the consolidated
tradition of amnesty, that is to say a measure that nullifies sanctions or
penalties (fiscal, building speculation,..etc..)
Of the 4 million official immigrants present in Italy more than 50% entered
as undocumented migrants
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Extraordinary Regularisation in Italy
Regularisations
Immigrants
Legge 943/86
105.000
Legge 39/90
217.626
D.L. 489/95
244.492
D.p.c.m. 16/10/1998
217.124
D.L. 195/2002
646.829
D.P.C.M.del 25/02/2006 e D.P.C.M.del 25/10/2006
D.L. 78/2009 – A.C. 2561-A
520.000
300.000
Sources: Istat, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labour
11/12/10
Underground Economy
The main reason for such a wide presence of irregular migration is
linked to the easy access to Italian territory even for irregular
immigrants to work in the underground economy without being
discovered. The countries of Southern Europe (Greece, Italy and Spain)
are seen as States with the highest GDP produced from the
underground economy.
The data following slide shows a structural weakness of Italy in
combating underground work as entire sectors of the economy such as
agriculture, building trade and home help assistance (INPS 2008)
survive thanks to underground work which often employs irregular and
regular immigrants.
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Underground Economy
% of GDP produced from underground economy( in some OECD Countries 2006)
30
26
23.1
25
20.2
20
15.8
15.4
13.2
15
10.9
10
5
0
UK
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Source: F. Schneider e A. Buehn
11/12/10
Greece
OECD Average
Undocumented Migrant Workers 2001 - 2009 (in thousands)
Source: Istat
11/12/10
Irregular rates per unit work for different economic sectors 2001 - 2009
30
25
20
Agricoltural
15
Construction
10
Commercial and
tourism
5
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Sources: Istat, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labour
11/12/10
Institutional inspection activity
Years
Inspected Firms
Irregular Firms
Irregular workers
Underground workers
2008
315.170
197.843
307.625
127.349
2009
303.691
175.144
316.310
124.476
Var. %
-3,64%
-11,47%
2,82%
-2,26%
Sources: Ministry of Labour and Istat
11/12/10
Conclusions so that Rosarno riots won’t happen anymore
1. Fighting the underground economy
2. Different programs for recruitment of skilled anunskilled
migrants
3. Fewer regularisations and less amnesty
4. More rights for Migrants and fighting criminality
5. Less demagogic political speech
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Bibliography
M.C. Chiuri, N. Coniglio e G. Ferri, “L’esercito degli invisibili. Aspetti economici dell’immigrazione clandestina”, Il Mulino,
Bologna, 2008.
Annuari statistici del Ministero Affari Esteri, 2003 – 2008
AA. VV., “Quindicesimo rapporto sulle Migrazioni 2009” a cura della Fondazione ISMU, Franco Angeli, Milano 2009.
Ministero del Lavoro, della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali, “Rapporto annuale sull’attività di vigilanza in materia di lavoro
e previdenziale”, anno 2007.
S. Castles and M. J. Miller, “The age of Migration”, Palgrave macmillan, London, 2009
ISTAT, Indagine conoscitiva su taluni fenomeni distorsivi del mercato del lavoro (lavoro nero, caporalato e sfruttamento
della manodopera straniera), Roma, 15 aprile 2010 (http://www.istat.it/istat/audizioni/150410/Audizione.pdf)
A. Leogrande, ”Uomini e caporali. Viaggio tra i nuovi schiavi nelle campagne del Sud”, Mondadori, Milano, 2008,
G. Zucca, “Arginare i mille rivoli del Lavoro Nero”, www.immigrationflows.net
11/12/10
Contacts:
Pietro Vallone
www.immigrationflows.net
[email protected]
11/12/10