Managing unauthorised migration

Most people think of illegal immigrants only as those who are in Australia's detention centres. But the label is far broader than that and should also include unauthorised entrants as well as the 'overstayers', those who continue to stay in Australia after their temporary visas have expired. According to the latest figures from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the number of overstayers at 30 June 2004 was estimated to be more than 50,000.1 The year before it was estimated at around 59,800. With this, Australia seems to be bucking the international trend. In developed countries around the world, the number of illegal immigrants is skyrocketing. In this article, Demetrios Papademetriou looks at policy implications and options for managing this development.