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The EU’s strong push for cooperation with third countries to facilitate the return of ‘irregularized’ migrants has some effects on transit countries, leading to an increased emphasis on coerced returns from there to origin countries. This influence operates in at least three ways. First, the financial support provided by the EU for border management is also used by these countries for pushbacks and entry restrictions at their land borders. Second, these countries are gradually working to establish their own assisted return mechanisms. Third, the countries targeted by the EU’s external policies may not necessarily feel compelled to legitimize the coercive returns, as they face significant domestic pressure and have become transit-turned-immigration countries. They are also aware of the deliberate silence and disengagement of the international community when it comes to excessive techniques used for migration control. All of these factors contribute to making migrants more vulnerable to worsening conditions during their journeys, a series of human rights violations, and the choice of riskier migration routes, making them more “deportable” from various moving and waiting sites. Two target countries of the EU’s external policies, namely Tunisia and Turkey, are exemplars to explore in this context, particularly with observations of coercive returns of Afghans from Turkey and Sub-Saharans from Tunisia.

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