ABSTRACT

In recent years, twin issues of irregular migration and border control have been catapulted to international attention. This chapter examines irregular migratory movements amidst tightening regulations in the India-Saudi Arabia migratory corridor, and the mutually constitutive relationship between these dynamics. Through an analysis of media reports and estimates, it argues that pervasive irregular migration, in this context, is an outgrowth of restrictive migration policies and labour practices aimed at reducing reliance on foreign workers. The analysis is a follow-up of our earlier paper (Irudaya Rajan and Joseph, forthcoming) in which we advance estimates that suggest that irregular migration in the Gulf region ranges between 20 and 40 per cent of total migrants, in contrast to previous government and academic reports that peg irregular migration at 10-15 per cent. Following an examination of irregular migration as institutionally produced (Goldring et al., 2011), we call for a nuanced perspective on irregular migration (Squire, 2011; Goldring et al., 2009), in the region, with policies that attend to structural factors (Bauder, 2014) and do not displace people into irregularity.