Is Europe Asking the Wrong Question About Immigration?

An invitation to watch the YouTube live discussion “Integration or ReImmigration? The Future of Italy and Europe”

Immigration has shaped political debate across Europe for more than a decade. Governments continue to discuss border security, asylum procedures, deportations, legal migration and labour shortages. Yet despite continuous legislative reforms, public confidence in immigration policy remains fragile.

Perhaps the problem is not simply the answers Europe has given.

Perhaps it is the question itself.

For years, the debate has focused almost entirely on who should be allowed to enter a country and who should be required to leave. Far less attention has been given to what happens after lawful entry.

How do we determine whether integration has actually succeeded?

This is the central question explored in my recent YouTube live discussion, “Integration or ReImmigration? The Future of Italy and Europe.”

Although the discussion took place in Italy, the issues it raises concern every European democracy, including the United Kingdom.

As an Italian immigration lawyer, I have spent many years working within one of Europe’s most complex immigration systems. Throughout that experience, I reached a simple conclusion.

Our legal systems have become increasingly sophisticated in regulating visas, residence permits, asylum procedures and citizenship.

What they have not developed is an equally robust legal framework for evaluating integration itself.

Yet integration is ultimately what determines whether immigration strengthens or weakens social cohesion.

This observation led me to develop what I call the “Integration or ReImmigration” paradigm.

The proposal begins with a straightforward principle.

A person who lawfully enters a country should be given every genuine opportunity to become part of the national community. Learning the language, respecting the rule of law, understanding constitutional values, participating in civic life and achieving economic independence should not be secondary objectives. They should form the very foundation of immigration policy.

Only after those opportunities have genuinely been provided does another question arise.

Has integration actually taken place?

If the answer is yes, long-term residence becomes stronger and more legitimate.

If the answer is no, following an individual legal assessment conducted under the rule of law, ReImmigration may become the lawful consequence of a failed integration process.

This approach differs fundamentally from the increasingly popular political concept of “remigration.”

It is not based on collective removal.

It is not based on nationality or ethnicity.

It is based on individual responsibility, measurable integration and legal certainty.

I believe this discussion is particularly relevant for the United Kingdom.

Although Brexit fundamentally changed Britain’s relationship with the European Union, it did not eliminate the challenge of integration. Border control is only one part of immigration policy. Building cohesive communities remains an equally important task.

That is why I believe the next stage of the immigration debate should move beyond the simple question of controlling migration flows.

It should begin asking how democratic societies can objectively assess successful integration.

That is precisely the discussion I invite you to join.

I warmly invite lawyers, academics, policymakers, journalists and everyone interested in the future of immigration policy to watch the full YouTube live discussion.

Although the conversation is in Italian, the legal ideas it explores are relevant far beyond Italy.

Europe may continue debating immigration.

Perhaps it is finally time to start debating integration.

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Watch the full YouTube live discussion:
“Integration or ReImmigration? The Future of Italy and Europe”

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Fabio Loscerbo
Attorney at Law – Immigration Lawyer
Registered Lobbyist in the European Union Transparency Register (No. 280782895721-36) for Migration and Asylum Policy
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7030-0428

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