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Europe Slams Its Gates

Faced with the largest influx of refugees and migrants since World War II, Europe has increasingly resorted to money-for-migration deals aimed at keeping Africans at home. These “pay-to-stay” agreements include funds for border security, development projects, and transit centers where migrants are encouraged to return home. Europe has also sought—though struggled to secure—greater cooperation from African nations on the deportation of irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers.

This multi-part series published by Foreign Policy and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting takes the first comprehensive look at Europe's response to the migration crisis, which has been directed not just at the continent’s own borders but at impoverished and war-torn countries thousands of miles away. The European Union and member states are increasingly fusing their immigration policies with broader state-building, development, and counterterrorism efforts that cost billions and will take decades to bear fruit—if they bear fruit at all.

Can “pay-to-stay” really address the root causes of migration? Or does it simply outsource the dirty work of immigration control while doing little to alleviate the poverty and joblessness that has sent thousands of young men to their deaths in the Mediterranean? Foreign Policy and the Pulitzer Center follow the migrant trail from Mali to Niger and on to Libya to find out.

Keeping Refugees in Africa

Since last summer, the flow of refugees from Libya to Europe has shrunk considerably. The EU attributes this to its own successful policy, but reality is a lot more depressing.

Paying Migrants to Stay

Brussels is betting on an ambitious plan to transform countries like Mali into places people will want to live. But will a makeover be enough to keep would-be migrants home?

Outsourcing the Dirty Work

Europe is partnering with Libyan militias to prevent African migrants from ever reaching Europe. The result is a detention-industrial complex that turns African migrants into commodities.

This Week: Europe Slams Its Gates

This week: A deep dive into the complexities of European migration, our grantees win an Emmy, and how the Internet hurt Myanmar overnight.