ABSTRACT
Irregular migration has become a striking feature of human mobility in the globalised world. Simple and comprehensible by all appearances, it has turned out to be a much more complex and demanding issue in terms of political decisions, economic aspects, social attitudes, ethical principles and – last but not least – security repercussions. From the traditional nation-state perspective, irregular migration has been a dual phenomenon. It challenged state institutions responsible for the maintenance of security, law and order within the national territory, as well as sometimes becoming a source of trouble in the international arena, especially when it stirred up controversy over humanitarian and ethical issues. The phenomenon of irregular migration is tightly connected with the effectiveness of border controls and the quality of mechanisms and instruments of border management. Empirical research on immigrant communities has shown different forms of cohabitation and partial adaptation to local conditions in spite of significant symbolic differences and language barriers.
