When there are powerful push factors in sending countries or pull factors in receiving countries, restrictive measures alone are insufficient to contain migratory flows – they are simply diverted into irregular channels. This book provides an analysis of irregular migration in its different aspects and dimensions: its nature, characteristics and magnitude, its causes, conditions and consequences and the inadequacies of existing policy measures. Against the backdrop of this analysis, the last chapter puts forward a set of specific proposals for a comprehensive strategy to combat irregular migration.