Don’t Ask Me About My Business: The Mafia’s Exploitation of the European Migration Crisis

Abstract

Old meets new as the Italian mafia capitalizes on the European migration crisis. Beginning with the coordination of Mediterranean voyages and ending with the indefinite exploitation of refugees at mafia-run migrant camps, the mafia has found an opportunity to profit from the crisis at every step of the way. With no end to the constant influx of refugees in sight, and verging on a humanitarian crisis within the camps’ walls, Italy faces a serious problem that requires a multifaceted solution. The Dublin regulations, which mandate registration and application for asylum in the first European Union country of entry, are in no small part tied to the situation in Italy. Not only does this system disproportionately burden border states and slow the asylum application process, it also traps refugees in procedural limbo and allows corrupt individuals and organizations to profit from their quandary. In dire need of change in light of the refugee crisis, reforming Dublin has the capacity to loosen the mafia’s financial stronghold on the plight of migrants while also safeguarding the fundamental human rights of refugees and giving them a better chance at the life they seek within Europe’s borders.