ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 characterized the governance of irregular migration in the Moroccan context in terms of the external pressure to secure European borders, the absence of political will, and a clear market demand for immigration since Morocco is still a country of emigration. Despite exclusionary discourse with respect to irregular migrants, there is a ‘radically’ new immigration policy initiative, albeit very recent. The regularization of migrants without legal status in Morocco has been a major aspect of the new immigration policy. While the outcomes of the new immigration policy initiative are yet to be seen, migrants’ testimonies reveal the gradual but drastic change in the visibility of migrants in the social and political spheres. As observed by a member of a migrant community for sub-Saharan migrants, ‘it was impossible to walk in the street back in 2005,’ in the aftermath of events in Ceuta and Melilla. During a meeting in March 2014, ‘The new migration policy in Morocco, which strategy of integration?’ organized by the Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Abroad and Migration Affairs, a sub-Saharan migrant in the audience addressed the Minister directly, saying that he applauds the fact that children of irregular migrants are currently being admitted to primary schools, but that the curriculum is not suitable for Christian pupils. How can we account for this change? That is, how do undocumented migrants raise their voices as political actors, given the official discourse and legal framework that have, until now, criminalized their presence on Moroccan soil?
