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Latest Migration News

On the move

Recent highlights

Migrants on the central Mediterranean route remain vulnerable to smuggling and trafficking networks that profit from dangerous crossings and unsafe boats. Conditions have worsened, with at least 655 migrants dying or going missing at sea in early 2026, more than double the same period in 2025, despite fewer crossing attempts. Experts link this rise to extreme weather, fragile boats, longer routes due to stricter border controls, and limited legal pathways. In one recent incident, a boat that departed Libya with over 100 people capsized, leaving at least two dead and more than 70 missing, with only 32 survivors rescued. The IOM also reported over 180 additional migrants missing after recent Mediterranean shipwrecks, bringing the estimated death toll since the start of 2026 to nearly 1,000, with the Central Mediterranean remaining the deadliest route.  

 
In the western Mediterranean, migrant arrivals in Spain’s Canary Islands have fallen sharply by 82% compared with the same period last year, following strengthened cooperation between Spain, the EU, and West African countries to intercept departures. However, flows have re-routed rather than decreased entirely, with significant increases in arrivals to Spain’s enclaves of Ceuta and the Balearic Islands, where authorities report growing migration pressure.  Moreover, authorities across France and the UK have dismantled a transnational smuggling network accused of transporting over 1,000 Vietnamese migrants into the UK via irregular routes.  
 
In the eastern Mediterranean, deadly incidents continue alongside sustained crossing attempts toward Greece. In one case, 19 migrants, including a baby, died near Bodrum, Türkiye, after their boat sank while attempting to evade the coast guard.  Despite enforcement efforts, irregular movement persists: between March 30 and April 5, 2026, 12 boats carrying 268 migrants attempted to cross to the Greek Aegean Islands. Most intercepted, with 89 arrivals ultimately recorded in Greece.  

Positive News

UNICEF reported that in 2025, it supported over 15,000 migrant and refugee children and young people in Italy, mainly through mental health services, protection programs, and efforts to prevent gender-based violence. Roughly 3,000 minors, women, and families received individual support from local services, while 1,400 vulnerable minors participated in programs to develop language, digital, and transferable skills. This year (2026), UNICEF aims to expand its impact, targeting 30,000 people through direct support and up to 100,000 through online initiatives, while continuing to strengthen protection and inclusion of systems for migrant children.  

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EU updates

  • 15th of April 2026: Afghan migrants in Poland fear forced deportation after authorities restricted access to asylum procedures for those entering via the Belarus border. 

  • 14th of April 2026:  Germany has frozen access to free integration courses for most asylum seekers, affecting around 129,500 people. 

  • A report from 20 March 2026 noted that Austria has approved the opening of negotiations with Uzbekistan on a migration agreement aimed at facilitating returns of rejected asylum seekers, including transit migrants. It also highlighted that Poland is preparing to construct a new 4-meter-high fence along parts of its border with Belarus to deter irregular crossings. In addition, Germany has announced plans to end federal funding for independent legal counselling for asylum seekers from 2027. The decision has been criticized by opposition parties and NGOs, who argue that it will weaken legal safeguards and make asylum procedures harder to navigate. 

  • 27 March 2026: Germany and the Netherlands have reached an agreement to work together on enhancing border security and enforcing the European Asylum and Migration Pact. Their cooperation will particularly emphasize arranging the return of unsuccessful asylum applicants to their home countries through planned return hubs that are still to be established. 

  • 25 March 2026: Sweden’s government proposed a bill requiring migrants to demonstrate an “honest living” to retain residence permits, with failures potentially leading to deportation. Read more

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Countries

Return Mania
Mapping policies and practices in the EuroMed region

The research provides an overview of the current return policies and practices in the Euro-Mediterranean region and sheds a light on the violations of human rights entailed by this “return obsession”, which is shared across Member States, EU institutions and third countries alike. The report covers national return policies and practices in the Mashreq and Maghreb regions, focusing on returns from Türkiye and Lebanon to Syria, and on readmission agreements between Italy and Tunisia, Spain and Morocco as well as France and Morocco. It also looks at returns from Germany and Italy to Egypt. Read More