Irregular migration and immigrant smuggling in Türkiye: Situation assessment based on interviews in removal centers

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. With the influence of globalization, people who see the opportunities in distant geographies may decide to migrate, thinking that they will have opportunities that they do not have in their own countries. States introduce legal procedures for foreigners to immigrate to their countries, and migration in accordance with these legal procedures is called regular migration, while migration made illegally by violating legal procedures is called irregular migration. On the other hand, immigrants who enter the country as regular immigrants but do not exit despite the expiration of their legal right to stay or who work without a work permit become irregular immigrants while being regular immigrants. In addition, there are people who are forced to migrate irregularly due to conflicts in their countries or the pressures they experience. In addition to encouraging regular migration, states also take measures to prevent irregular migration. Especially countries adjacent to or close to conflict zones are shaken by the actions of foreign terrorist fighters coming from the war zone, and it becomes a major security problem for the countries. States' increased security measures at their borders cause irregular immigrants to experience difficulties when trying to cross borders. Irregular immigrants who cannot overcome these difficulties with their own means make deals with immigrant smugglers in exchange for a fee. While Türkiye is a transit country for immigrants who want to migrate to Europe due to its proximity to developed European countries, it is also seen as a target country for those who cannot pass to Europe and due to its proximity to conflict zones. That's why Türkiye is taking extraordinary measures at its borders to combat irregular migration and immigrant smuggling. This study aims to evaluate the effects of irregular migration and immigrant smuggling in Türkiye from a security perspective. The study is limited to irregular immigrants who come to Türkiye illegally. In this regard, interviews were conducted with irregular immigrants who were under administrative detention in Adana, Ağrı, Ankara, İzmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli and Şanlıurfa Repatriation Centers, and a survey consisting of open and closed-ended questions was applied during the interviews. According to the data obtained from the research, it was concluded that irregular immigrants suffered human rights violations during their irregular migration journey, that immigrant smugglers are an international organization as they change throughout the journey, that they facilitate weapons, drugs and other smuggling due to the weak control of immigrant smuggling, and that they also provide financing to terrorist organizations that are strong in the regions. In addition, data was also obtained on the preparation process of irregular immigrants for their irregular migration journey, the security problems they experienced during and after the journey, the routes they used and the reasons for migrating irregularly. It is thought that the study will make a significant contribution to the academic literature in this form.