Giving Compass' Take:

• Marta Foresti discusses the ongoing migration problems in the U.S. and Europe and what real policy alternatives are viable ways to address the problem.

• Who needs to come to the table in order to achieve real change? 

• Find out how donors can help the family separation crisis. 

Just when you thought you had seen it all, the scenes from the United States-Mexico border with children held in cages hit our screens, while the incendiary wordsof Italy’s Matteo Salvini sent a shockwave throughout Europe.

It would be easy to despair. Instead, it is time to focus not just on calling out the limits of current approaches to global migration, but to come up with politically viable alternatives.

These cannot rely on “ideal” solutions or expectations of collective action and shared values – we must recognize that these have been eroded over the past few years, and find practical ways to manage migration differently.

The first lesson is about cooperation between states (and beyond) and it comes from continental Europe, where newly appointed interior minister Matteo Salvini has announced that Italy’s ports will no longer allow migrants’ boats to dock.

While leaving people stranded at sea is clearly inhumane, Salvini’s actions reflect those of almost every other European Union leader since the so-called crisis of 2015: to protect one’s own borders, rather than act collectively.

As Angela Merkel pointed out following June 24th’s “mini summit” in Brussels, the time may have come for new, different bilateral and trilateral deals or coalitions on migration matters between countries sharing genuine political and economic interests.

For example, we have seen Spain stepping up to respond to and manage sea arrivals, which until very recently was left to Italy and Greece alone.

Read the full article about migration policy alternatives by Marta Foresti at News Deeply.