Monthly Press Review January 2026

This monthly press review covers Eurafrican migration control, migration, social movements and displacement in African countries, and news on the European border regime.

The selection of these articles is somewhat rough and contingent, and biassed on our interest in popular uprisings, and social and migration movements, but also border politics, and militarization of social relations.

The main sources are News from AJE, Guardian, New York Times etc., but also newsletters from various sources. As we know, all the more after the Gaza experience, it is necessary to complement the European, and especially the German news landscape with articles from abroad. If anybody would like to contribute from other sources, let us know (contact[at]migration-control.info).

For a more distiguished way of doing press reviews, and more fokused on European developments, please Also see migreurop Press Review January 2026, and the ERCE Press Review.

We also recommend the SWP Web Monitore, especially Nahost/ Nordafrika, and Subsahara-Afrika.

Minnesota Special

31.01.26 AJE: Milan protests decry ‘creeping fascism’ of ICE role at Winter Olympics: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Saturday in Milan to protest the deployment of ICE agents during the upcoming Winter Olympics, unbothered by the fact that agents would be stationed in a control room and not operating on the streets.

30.01.26 AJE: US protesters hold nationwide strike against Trump’s immigration policies: Protesters call for ‘no work, no school, no shopping’ in response to Trump’s deadly immigration enforcement crackdown.

28.01.15 Guardian: ‘Political thunderstorm’: inside Trump’s attacks on the Somali community [Long Read about Somali Diaspora by Nesrine Malik]] The US president’s clamp down on immigration and flouting of the rule of law in Minnesota is entrenching long-established reserves of solidarity

27.01.26 Guardian: A week of ICE and outrage in Minneapolis: the turmoil of the days leading up to Alex Pretti’s death: Since the Trump administration sent ICE agents into the city in December, there have been 3,000 arrests and two fatal shootings. In the freezing cold, as the crisis deepens, the Minnesotan people continue to resist

Also see France 24 27.01.26: ‘We are just not stopping’: How Minnesotans turned the tables on ICE; In these Times 22.01.256: “No Work. No Spending": Minnesota Workers Strike Today to Protest ICE; Reuters 21.01.26: Thousands protest against Trump immigration policies: Thousands of U.S. workers and students marched through cities and university campuses on Tuesday in opposition to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

For more reports on resistence to ICE see: Crimethinc: Reports from Minneapolis

All Africa

13.01.26 ACLED: Africa Overview: January 2026: The US launched missiles in Sokoto, Nigeria, the RSF gained control of more territory in West Kordofan, and the M23 seized control of Uvira in the DRC.

07.01.26 TNH: What’s shaping aid policy in 2026: [Analysis] Six trends driving change and disruption in the coming months.

03.12.25 SWP: Mapping African Migration: this working paper seeks to address this gap by analysing the latest version of the UN DESA International Migrant Stock dataset, supplemented by additional data sources on forced and internal displacement as well as remittances. Its aim is to provide interpretations and explanations, while challenging prevailing narratives and misconceptions about migration from Africa

North Africa:

Algeria

20.01.26 Infomigrants: Algeria: IOM signs partnership with government expanding voluntary return partnership: The IOM has reached an agreement with the government in Algiers to use an Airport hotel in Dar El Beida, Algiers to accommodate irregular migrants who are registered under the IOM's Voluntary Return and Reintegration Assistance Program. The deal significantly expands Algeria's current capacity to house and process migrants who have applied to be part of the IOM's voluntary return program.
Meanwhile, data released by the humanitarian organization Alarme Phone Sahara claims that the Algerian authorities expelled more than 34,000 migrants to Niger during 2025.

31.12.25 APS: Assamanka, Niger: The Alarm Phone Sahara team in Assamaka documented at least 34,236 people deported from Algeria in official and unofficial convoys between January and December 2025.

Algeria / Niger

29.01.26 RFI: Le pétrole retisse les liens entre l'Algérie et le Niger: Réussir sur deux projets. Notamment l’exploitation du champ pétrolier de Kafra situé au nord du Niger. Renouvelé en février 2022, le permis d’exploitation est partagé entre les deux États. La phase d’exploration est toujours en cours.
L’Algérie, qui souhaite se diversifier et se développer sur le continent africain, tente aussi avec le Nigeria de faire avancer le chantier du gazoduc transaharien (TSGP). 4100 kilomètres entre les deux États, 13 milliards de dollars d’investissements. 70 % de cette structure est achevée mais les travaux, qui doivent être pris en charge par l’Algérie et le Nigeria, n’ont pas débuté au Niger. Alger a donc tout intérêt à retisser des liens diplomatiques mais surtout économiques avec Niamey.

Egypt

22.01.26 RPE: Joint Statement Forced Deportation and Escalating Discrimination Egypt Turns Forcibly Displaced Syrian Citizens from Residents and Refugees into ‘Violators’ Under Threat of Arrest and Deportation: [Statement] Recently, Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented escalation in policies and practices related to asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants, as evidenced by the targeting of forcibly displaced Syrian citizens through sudden administrative and legal changes as well as simultaneous large-scale security crackdown campaigns in several governorates.

15.01.26 EU: Commission provides €1 billion in macro-financial assistance to Egypt: In its assessment, the Commission concluded that Egypt fulfilled all the required conditions for the disbursement, including concrete and credible steps towards respecting effective democratic mechanisms

Also see Melting Pot 19.01.26: L’Egitto non è un Paese sicuro: applicata la giurisprudenza della Corte di Giustizia UE; MEF 06.01.26: Egypt’s Supreme Court Just Gave the State Unlimited Power to Define ‘Terrorism’: This Is Not Merely a Legal Technicality; It Is the Final Act in a Decade-Long Consolidation of Power

Libya

15.01.26 Reuters: At least 21 migrant bodies found in Libya mass grave, security sources say: The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said security authorities raided a farm near the town of Ajdabiya after receiving a report of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa being held there.

Also see Devdiscourse 18.01.26: Libya's Hidden Horrors: Mass Migrant Rescue in Kufra: Libya's security forces have liberated over 200 migrants from a concealed prison in Kufra, southeast Libya. The facility was found to be run by a human trafficker, housing captives in dire conditions. This discovery highlights ongoing humanitarian abuses in the region affecting mostly Sub-Saharan African migrants.

06.01.26 Digit.site36: EU doubles pullback system in Libya: Renegade Benghazi to receive control centre and coastguard equipment: EU is copying its backdoor model from western Libya to the east. Notorious militias are to intercept refugees on a new route to Crete.

Mauritania

14.01.26 Reuters: Migrants using more distant, riskier departure points to Canaries after Mauritania crackdown, Red Cross finds: Migrants crossing from West Africa to Spain's Canaries started using more distant - and potentially more deadly - departure points in 2025 following a crackdown by Mauritania on irregular migration, according to data published by the Red Cross. The number of small boats arriving in the Canaries from the Gambia, south of Mauritania, more than doubled to 22 in 2025 from nine in 2024, according to the data.

30.12.25 RFI: Mauritanie: les flux de réfugiés maliens s'intensifient, selon l'ONU: Selon le Haut-Commissariat de l’ONU pour les réfugiés, plus de 1 100 personnes ont franchi la frontière la semaine dernière, portant à environ 7 300 le nombre de nouveaux arrivants depuis la fin octobre. Un afflux qui s’ajoute aux plus de 300 000 réfugiés maliens déjà présents dans le pays

Morocco

28.01.26: Morocco to open Nador West Med port in Q4 2026: Morocco will start operating its second Mediterranean deepwater port, Nador West Med, in the fourth quarter of this year as it seeks to replicate the success of Tanger Med, the Mediterranean and Africa's largest port, the royal palace said on Wednesday.
The $5.6 billion facility will open with an annual capacity of 5 million containers, expandable to 12 million. The project also provides 700 hectares for industrial and logistics activity, which has already attracted 20 billion dirhams in private investment.

27.01.26 Business Insider: Morocco, Senegal deepen strategic ties with 16 new agreements despite AFCON tension: Morocco and Senegal have signed 16 new cooperation agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, signalling a renewed commitment to strategic partnership

15.01.26 Africa Report: Why Morocco has chosen military cooperation with Israel: The military alliance between the two countries is now deep, structured and fully operational as Rabat pursues its discreet but targeted objectives.

Tunisia

30.01.26 Reuters: Tunisia extends state of emergency by 11 months until Dec 31: The North African country has been under a state of emergency since 2015 after an attack in which several presidential guards were killed.

East Africa

Ethiopia

31.01.26 AJE: Drone strikes in Ethiopia’s Tigray kill one amid fears of renewed conflict: The attack comes amid fears of a return to conflict following clashes between government troops and Tigrayan forces.

16.01.26 Africa Reeport: Who are the Fano – and why is Ethiopia blaming Eritrea for arming them?: A loose Amhara militia network that fought the TPLF now wages a decentralised insurgency – and is pulling Addis Ababa and Asmara back into confrontation. Embedded in local communities and spread across multiple zones, Fano can absorb losses and re-emerge after federal crackdowns.

Somalia

30.01.26 Africa Report: US begins $70m expansion of Kenya military base to counter Al-Shabaab: Authorities said the runway expansion financed by the US is intended to bolster counter-terrorism operations across the Horn of Africa, targeting the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab. The move marks a deepening of military ties following former president Joe Biden’s 2024 designation of Kenya as the first “major non-Nato ally” in sub-Saharan Africa.

12.01.26 AJE: Somalia cancels all agreements with UAE over alleged sovereignty violations: Mogadishu accuses Abu Dhabi of undermining national unity as rift deepens over breakaway regions

Sudan

16.01.26 AJE: Saudi to Sudan: Can Pakistan expand military footprint across Arab world?: By the standards of mega arms deals, the $1.5bn deal for Pakistan to reportedly sell jets and weapons to Sudan’s military isn’t huge.
But the deal, which the Reuters news agency reported in early January was close to being finalised, could prove pivotal in the grinding war

Also see ECFR 13.01.26: From partners to rivals: What the Saudi-UAE rupture means for Europeans: Riyadh will continue to pursue leadership across the Middle East with the objective of containing an increasingly hegemonic Israel—and to weaken Emirati reach. For example, it is coordinating an expansion of its defence alliance with Pakistan towards Turkey and pressing Egypt to restrict airspace for Emirati cargo flights that it suspects are supplying the RSF in Sudan. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is brokering the transfer of Pakistani fighter jets to the SAF.; FA 08.01.26: The War That Outgrew Sudan: Middle East Rivalries Are Turning a Local War Into a Regional Crisis [Alex de Waal]; Blätter Febr. 26: Sudan: Prototyp eines neuen Krieges; LMD 08.01.26: Sudan – Leid und Profit [Good map showing the vast Gold Fields]; 07.01.26 SWM: Why the Warring Parties in Sudan Refuse to Negotiate: Peace negotiations in Sudan didn’t collapse — they never even happened

08.01.26 TNH: “I volunteer because I love my people”: On the ground with Darfur’s mutual aid volunteers: [Video] Members of a local emergency response room describe worsening RSF attacks and funding shortfalls.

06.01.26 taz: Flüchtlingskrise in Sudan: Hart angegriffen: In einem äthiopischen Dorf an der Grenze zu Sudan hausen Zehntausende Menschen in einem Zeltlager.

03.01.26 SWM: Christmas Celebration Bombed in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains: The Sudanese Armed Forces conducted a drone attack on the village of Julud in the Nuba Mountains region of South Kordofan State, where worshippers had gathered for celebrations of Christmas

West Africa and Sahel

Burkina Faso

30.01.26 AJE: Why has Burkina Faso banned political parties, and what’s next?: After several years of suspension, political parties in Burkina Faso have been formally dissolved by the military government, which has also seized all their assets in a move analysts say is a major blow for democracy in the West African nation.

22.01.26 Africa News: Jihadist attack claims lives of eleven police officers in Burkina Faso: Security sources told AFP that "several hundred jihadists" attacked a police detachment in Balga, located in the Gourma province of the East Region.

15.01.26 APS: Burkina adopts new customary chieftaincy status law: This major text aims to formally integrate this centuries-old institution into the national legal frameworkwhile enshrining its political neutrality. The transitional parliament has taken a decisive step in the revitalisation of Burkina Faso’s institutional heritage. Chiefs will now benefit from the assistance of the security forces in the event of a threat and will be issued an official identification document.

Chad

14.01.26 RFI: Tchad: des affrontements entre rebelles du MPRD et l'armée font plusieurs morts dans le sud du pays: Au Tchad, l’armée est déployée depuis plusieurs jours dans la région du Moyen-Chari, non loin de la frontière centrafricaine. Mardi 13 janvier, des combats y ont éclaté, opposant les soldats tchadiens aux éléments rebelles du Mouvement pour la paix, la reconstruction et le développement (MPRD). Plusieurs morts ont été enregistrés des deux côtés.

Ghana

16.01.26 Reuters: Ghana took in Trump's deported West Africans. Then it forced them home: Ghana announced deal in September to take West Africans deported by the US Lawyers say Ghana routinely forces new arrivals back home

Niger

30.01.26 Guardian: Islamic State claims attack on international airport and airbase in Niger: Motorcycle-riding militants launch strikes using heavy weaponry and drones, damaging planes belonging to Ivorian carrier and Togolese airline.

Also see AJE 30.01.25: ISIL claims responsibility for Niger airport attack Sahel Intell.: L’armée annonce la neutralisation de 70 terroristes en une semaine

31.12,25 APS: Assamanka, Niger: The Alarm Phone Sahara team in Assamaka documented at least 34,236 people deported from Algeria in official and unofficial convoys between January and December 2025.

28.12.225 AJE: Niger’s military rulers order ‘general mobilisation’ against armed groups: The military rulers expand emergency powers, warning that people, property, and services may be requisitioned.

Nigeria

26.01.26 France 24: US to step up coordination with Nigeria to pursue Islamic State group militants: The US military is increasing materiel deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria, Africom's deputy commander said, as part of a broader American push to work with African militaries to go after Islamic State group-linked militants. The Pentagon has also kept open lines of communication with militaries in the junta-led Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali

Also see AJE 23.01.26: Militarising the Sahel will not defeat terrorism: US air strikes, rival military blocs and competing foreign backers are reshaping security in West Africa and pushing states closer to conflict.; Africa News 21.01.26: AES : au moins 31 morts dans une attaque terroriste au Niger; Conversation 31.12.2025 : US air strikes in northern Nigeria: possible windfalls, as well as dangers

Mail

22.01.26 Jungle World: »Eine implizite Kohabitation«: [Interview] Étienne Fakaba Sissoko, der Sprecher der neu gegründeten oppositionellen Koalition der Kräfte für die Republik (CFR), kritisiert im Gespräch mit der »Jungle World« die Tendenz des Regimes, sich mit den Jihadisten zu arrangieren.

22.01.26 RFI: Mali: l'annonce d'un rationnement du carburant suscite questionnements et inquiétudes: À chaque passage en station-service, la plaque d'immatriculation ou la vignette du véhicule sera photographiée par le pompiste, avec son téléphone portable, puis enregistrée sur une « application web » permettant de suivre le réseau de distribution « en temps réel ». Les voitures ne seront autorisées à faire un nouveau plein que 72 heures plus tard, les motos 48 heures plus tard, soit respectivement trois jours et deux jours entre deux passages.

Also see Africa Report 20.01.26: Mali: JNIM’s siege of Bamako eases, but fear lingers: After weeks of paralysis triggered by a fuel blockade imposed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), life is cautiously returning to Bamako; Barron’s 12.01.26: Three Industrial Sites Attacked, Civilians Kidnapped In Mali

Senegal

29.01.29 La Cimade: La pénalisation de la migration au Sénégal – rapport d’analyse du REMIDEV: Pays de transit, de départ et d’accueil, le Sénégal est réputé être le point de départ de beaucoup de migrants africains vers l’Europe par la voie maritime. C’est peut-être ce qui justifiait l’idée qu’un grand nombre de personnes seraient détenues dans les prisons du fait de la migration. Le REMIDEV avec le soutien de la Cimade a ainsi décidé d’en savoir plus sur le niveau de pénalisation de la migration mais aussi sur le respect des droits des personnes détenues, en particulier les étrangers.

21.01.26 Le Soleil: Plan spécial d’investissement 2026-2028 : le Premier ministre Ousmane Sonko pose les bases d’une transformation structurelle de l’économie: Le Plan spécial d’Investissement et de Financement repose sur trois principes directeurs : une approche cohérente, sélective et stratégique des projets à financer ; une mobilisation massive du secteur privé, appelé à jouer le rôle de locomotive de la transformation économique ; et un engagement public fort en matière de redevabilité.

Sub Saharan Africa

DRC

31.01.26 AJE: More than 200 killed in mine collapse in eastern DR Congo: The coltan mine has been under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since 2024

Mozambique

22.01.26 ACLED: Ransom, gold, and spoils of war: Islamic State Mozambique's new cash flow: In 2025, Islamic State Mozambique developed significant new income sources through kidnapping, extortion, and ransom, as well as by exerting control over artisanal and small-scale mining. These give the group significant new income. Whether this is in addition to external funding from the Islamic State, or replaces it, is not yet clear.

Soth Africa

18.01.26 Guardian: Smuggled to suburbia: no end to danger for Ethiopians looking for better life in South Africa: With tens of thousands thought to be arriving each year, the ‘southern route’ is becoming more perilous and extortionary

Tanzania

16.01.26 DW: Die tödliche Gewalt von Tansanias Polizei: Was während der Unruhen nach den Wahlen im Oktober in Tansania passierte, ist immer noch unklar. Neue Erkenntnisse deuten auf Morde und schwere Menschenrechtsverletzungen durch Sicherheitskräfte in der Stadt Mwanza hin.

Also see Africa Report 14.01.26: Samia’s family ties: The new face of Tanzanian power: A post-election reshuffle has brought the president’s immediate family and long-standing allies to the centre of government, signalling a decisive shift towards loyalist consolidation in Tanzania.

West Asia

Gaza and Westbank

30.01.26 Guardian : Settler-only IDF units functioning as ‘vigilante militias’ in West Bank: ‘Regional defence’ settler units are escalating violent displacement of Palestinians, Israeli reservists and activists say

31.01.26 Reuters: Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 30, Palestinian health officials say

30.01.26 Guardian: Israel accepts health authorities’ Gaza death toll is broadly accurate, saying 70,000 have died: Israel’s military has accepted the death toll compiled by health authorities in Gaza is broadly accurate, marking a U-turn after years of official attacks on the data.

26.01.26 Al Shabaka: The NCAG: Gaza’s Technocratic Turn to Genocide Management: This policy memo argues that technocratic governance in Gaza—particularly under US oversight, given its role as a co-perpetrator in the genocide—should be understood not as a pathway to recovery or sovereignty, but as part of a broader strategy of genocide management.

23.01.26 Guardian: United Arab Emirates plans to bankroll first ‘planned community’ in south Gaza: Palestinian residents there will have access to basic services like education, healthcare and running water, as long as they submit to biometric data collection and security vetting, according to planning documents and people familiar with the latest round of talks at the US-led Civil Military Coordination Center in Israel.
The planned city would mark the UAE’s first investment in a postwar reconstruction project located in the part of Gaza currently held by Israel. The wealthy Gulf state has contributed more than $1.8bn of humanitarian assistance to Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to UAE state media, making it Gaza’s largest humanitarian donor.

20.01.26 +972: Germany never stopped arming Israel’s genocide: [Long Read] A new bilateral cybersecurity deal and the continued flow of weapons leave little ambiguity about Germany's stance: not accountability, but normalization.

12.01.26 NYT: Israel Is Still Demolishing Gaza, Building by Building: More than 2,500 structures have been destroyed since the start of the cease-fire, an analysis by The New York Times has found

07.01.26 +972: Why Israelis are leaving in record numbers: Over 150,000 citizens have left the country in the past two years alone — many of them with a one-way ticket and no plans of returning.

Iran

09.01.26 Spiegel: So breiten sich die Proteste in Iran aus: Seit fast zwei Wochen wird Iran von einer neuen Protestwelle erschüttert – es ist die vierte innerhalb von acht Jahren.

Also see

January 2026 (ongoing): Materialsammlung des Flüchtlingcafe’s Göttingen; NYT 14.01.26: With Crackdown on Protests, Iran’s Government ‘Is Only Buying Time’; taz 13.01.26: Weder Mullah noch Schah!; AJE 05.01.26: Timeline of protests in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution; AJE 04.01.26: Protests grow as Iran’s government makes meager offer amid tanking economy: Bolder protests are being recorded across Iran amid an increasing deployment of armed security officers as the government’s efforts to contain an unravelling economic situation fall flat.

25.01.26 NYT: How Iran Crushed a Citizen Uprising With Lethal Force: Scattered protests had percolated since late December, starting with a strike in Tehran’s bazaar and fueled by a plunging economy. But by early January, Iranians had revolted en masse, and the security forces began to crack down with deadly force.

Also see Guardian 27.01.26: Disappeared bodies, mass burials and ‘30,000 dead’: what is the truth of Iran’s death toll?: Testimony from medics, morgue and graveyard staff reveals huge state effort to conceal systematic killing of protesters

Jordan

15.01.26 ERCE: EU top leadership visits Middle East: European Commission (EC) President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa travelled to the Middle East at the beginning of January. On 8 January, the two presidents attended the first EU-Jordan Summit in Amman. The meeting took place a year after the signing of the €3 billion EU-Jordan Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership (SCP) and participants outlined priorities for deepening co-operation in several areas, including migration, refugee protection and support. According to documents seen by the Euractiv news agency, the EU used the occasion to disburs an initial €500 million from the partnership package.

Also see KAS: EU-Jordanien-Gipfeltreffen: Symbolischer Schritt für eine strategische Partnerschaft

Pakistan

31.01.26 Reuters: Thousands flee northwest Pakistan after mosques warn of possible military action: Local officials in the region, who asked to remain unidentified, said thousands of families have fled and are being registered for assistance in nearby towns. The Tirah Valley has long been a sensitive security zone and a stronghold for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an Islamist militant group that has carried out attacks on Pakistani security forces.

01.02.26 Guardian: Pakistan targets Balochistan separatists after ‘unprecedented’ assaults: Officials say calm restored to province day after dozens killed in suicide and gun attacks in at least 10 cities

Syria

30.01.26 Guardian: Syrian government and Kurdish forces reach deal on permanent truce: The agreement on Friday appeared to resolve escalating tensions between the two sides over the question of Kurdish autonomy in north-east Syria and paved a way for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to join Syria’s new army through negotiations, rather than battle.
It came after Syrian government forces swept through north-east Syria, aided by the Arab and tribal elements, shrinking the territory controlled by the SDF by about 80%. The SDF chose mainly to withdraw from Arab-majority areas but were preparing to defend Kurdish-majority cities from government forces, when the deal was struck on Friday.

Aklso see AJE 30.01.26: Kurdish-led SDF agrees integration with Syrian government forces; Freitag 23.01.26: Rojava in Gefahr: „Ein Einmarsch würde ethnische Säuberungen bedeuten“; Reuters 22.01.26: Damascus brings more of Syria under its control as US policy shifts

Yemen

07.01.26 AJE: Saudi-backed forces move on Aden as Yemen secessionist leader vanishes: The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched air strikes on southern Yemen saying it targeted secessionist forces after their leader disappeared instead of boarding a plane scheduled to take him to talks in Riyadh.
Saudi-backed ground forces on Wednesday moved on the Yemeni city of Aden, a stronghold of the southern secessionists supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Mediterranean

28.01.26 Maldusa: Between the institutional silence of the border regime and Cyclone Harry, 2026 is already beginning to count the deaths in the Central Mediterranean.: We denounce what is happening in Lampedusa: a hyper-militarized island, with nearly 500 law-enforcement officers for 5,000 residents (on average one for every ten people), yet lacking even the minimum resources to guarantee rescue and medical care.

26.01.26 Guardian: Hundreds feared dead in attempt to cross Mediterranean during cyclone: Up to 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week as Cyclone Harry battered southern Italy and Malta, the Italian coastguard has said, as a shipwreck with the loss of 50 lives was confirmed by Maltese authorities.

15.01.26 Frontex: Frontex: Irregular border crossings down 26% in 2025, Europe must stay prepared: Initial consolidated figures from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, show detections of irregular border crossings at the EU’s external borders fell by over one-quarter (26%) in 2025 to almost 178 000. This is less than half the total recorded in 2023 and the lowest level since 2021.
In 2025, the Central Mediterranean remained the most active migration route into the EU, with detection levels broadly in line with 2024. Departures from Libya remained a key factor shaping movements towards Italy.

Atlantic Route

15.01.26 ERCE: Significant decrease in arrivals on Canary Islands in 2025: According to data published by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, arrivals on the archipelago fell by 62% to 17,788 in 2025. According to the 2025 edition of the ‘Monitoring the Right to Life’ report by the NGO Caminando Fronteras, 3,090 people died on the various migration routes from northwest Africa to Spain between 1 January and 15 December 2025 compared to 10,457 in the previous year.

14.01.26 Reuters: Migrants using more distant, riskier departure points to Canaries after Mauritania crackdown, Red Cross finds: Migrants crossing from West Africa to Spain's Canaries started using more distant - and potentially more deadly - departure points in 2025 following a crackdown by Mauritania on irregular migration, according to data published by the Red Cross. The number of small boats arriving in the Canaries from the Gambia, south of Mauritania, more than doubled to 22 in 2025 from nine in 2024, according to the data.

Also see RFI 13.01.26: Sénégal: soixante migrants secourus à bords d'une pirogue près de Dakar

Europe

France

29.01.26 anafé: Contrôles et enfermement aux frontières : outils d’une politique raciste décomplexée – Note d’analyse: L’Anafé publie aujourd’hui son analyse « Contrôles et enfermement aux frontières : outils d’une politique raciste décomplexée » sur les reformes du Pacte européen sur la migration et l’asile et du code frontières Schengen. Ces textes, déjà partiellement en vigueur, vont profondément dégrader le droit des étrangers français et européen, au détriment des personnes exilées et de leurs soutiens.

Germany

29.01.26 Spiegel: Einigung auf Geas-Paket Was der Asylkompromiss der Koalition für Geflüchtete bedeutet: Union und SPD haben ihren Asylstreit beigelegt. Der Kompromiss soll den Behörden mehr Befugnisse bezüglich ausreisepflichtiger Dublin-Flüchtlinge einräumen. Dafür sollen Asylsuchende schneller arbeiten dürfen.

Also see Mediendienst 16.01.2556: Wie viele Frauen und Kinder sind unter den Asylbewerbern?: Rund 66 Prozent aller Asylbewerber*innen, die 2025 in Deutschland zum ersten Mal einen Antrag auf Asyl gestellt haben, waren Frauen sowie Kinder und Jugendliche unter 18 Jahren (74.214 Personen). (Cf. Familienzusammenführung)

28.01.26 Kritnet u.a.: Abschiebungen in Konfliktregionen stoppen!: [Aufuf] Deutschlands Abschiebepolitik bricht Aufnahmezusagen und ignoriert Krieg, Terror und Unterdrückung

Also see Mediendienst 12.01.26: Wie viele Abschiebungen und freiwillige Ausreisen gibt es?: Im Jahr 2025 wurden mehr als 21.000 Personen aus Deutschland abgeschoben. Abschiebungen und Zurückweisungen an den Grenzen haben zugenommen. Zu den Abschiebungen zählen auch 5.112 Überstellungen im Rahmen der Dublin-III-Verordnung. Die häufigsten Abschiebungen erfolgten in die Türkei (2.118), nach Georgien (1.581) und nach Spanien als Dublin-Überstellungen (1.085).
Im selben Zeitraum sind rund 30.400 Personen freiwillig mit einer Grenzübertrittsbescheinigung aus Deutschland ausgereist

Greece

27.01.26 Statewatch: Greece: Criminal law used to target civil society organisations: The government's proposed changes to the country's migration code would transform certain misdemeanours into criminal offences, if committed by members of a group entered in the country's registry of non-government organisations.

Also see Infomigrants 16.01.26: Grèce : 24 travailleurs humanitaires acquittés d’accusations de trafic de migrants

Italy

30.01.26 AJE: Italian court opens trial over deadly migrant shipwreck: An Italian court has opened the trial of four police officers and two members of the Italian coastguard over their response to a 2023 shipwreck that killed at least 94 refugees and migrants. The trial opened in the southern port city of Crotone on Friday

13.01.26 Maldusa: Biometric experiments and arbitrary practices on people on the move: Over the past month, Lampedusa has become a testing ground for the introduction of new screening and border management tools, most notably the new "Screening Toolbox" package made available by the Frontex Agency. The pilot, which lasted from October 13th to 24th 2025 at the Lampedusa hotspot and was carried out by Frontex in collaboration with EUAA and EUROPOL

Spain

28.01.26 France 24: Why Spain is offering amnesty to 500,000 undocumented migrants: As countries on both sides of the Atlantic ramp up deportations of undocumented migrants, Spain’s left-wing government is preparing to give legal status to hundreds of thousands of irregular workers.

Also see taz 27.01.26: Papiere für „sin papeles“

UK

28.01.26 Reuters: Rwanda seeks arbitration over cancellation of asylum deal with UK: It added that Britain had asked it in 2024 to forgo two payments of 50 million pounds ($69 million) due in April 2025 and April 2026 in anticipation of the formal termination of the treaty underlying the deal.
A spokesperson for Starmer told reporters on Tuesday: "The Rwanda scheme was a complete disaster, it wasted 700 million pounds of taxpayer cash to return just four volunteers."

22.01.26 Guardian: UAE ordered to pay £260,000 to trafficking victim exploited by diplomat in London: igh court ruling marks first time a foreign state has been held liable for domestic servitude by its envoy on UK soil

15.01.26 Guardian: More than 100 asylum seekers stage ‘one in, one out’ protests at detention centres: Officers with riot shields, dogs and teargas called in to quell action at Harmondsworth and Brook House facilities

Also see Migration-Control.Info 21.01.26: UK: Protests in Detention Centres

European Union

29.01.26 EU: Commission presents a five-year strategy on migration: Today, the Commission is presenting the first European Asylum and Migration Management Strategy. It sets out the EU's political objectives on asylum and migration and will serve as a compass with concrete priorities for the next five years.
To support the implementation of this Strategy, the Union will make strategic use of Union funding as set out in the Commission's proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034. This includes a proposal to dedicate an overall amount of at least €81 billion to home affairs policies and a Global Europe instrument, designed to match a more strategic approach to international partnerships, in alignment with the EU's strategic interests, including on migration. EU Agencies will provide reinforced operational support to Member States.

29.01.26 digit.site36: These are the new plans for Frontex: more tasks and powers, but oversight remains weak: The EU Commission wants to triple Frontex troops. The agency’s appetite for data is also growing. This year, the Commission intends to propose further changes – some details have already leaked.

20.01.26 Statewatch: Schengen borders: more deportations, surveillance and militarisation in the works: An internal EU report obtained by Statewatch offers an update on efforts to strengthen border and immigration controls in the Schengen area in the first half of 2025. The report reflects a desire to step up the anti-migrant policy agenda pursued by European policymakers in recent years – more deportations, more surveillance and more militarisation of borders.

Find the Schengen Barometer Report here.

09.01.26 Mediendienst: Wie sich Fluchtrouten 2025 verändert haben: In der gesamten Europäischen Union sank die Zahl der Erstanträge in den ersten drei Quartalen 2025 um rund 27 Prozent im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum