Albert Kraler Tuba Bircan Ann Singleton University of Krems Press Text Buchkapitel Irregular migration Concepts legal status terminology reflexitivity mixed migration pathways in and out of irregularity missing migrants application/pdf doi:10.48341/g31s-vq79-02 eng What is irregular migration? http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Text book part 2025-09-30 Key points • This chapter explores how ‘irregular migration’ is defined and why the concept is contested, showing the tension between using existing categories for measurement and critically interrogating them. • It highlights that terms such as ‘irregular’, ‘illegal’, or ‘undocumented’ are not neutral but historically and politically charged. • The chapter explains that ‘irregular migration’ may denote different phenomena, legal status, border crossings, or policy violations, and stresses the need for precise definitions. • It shows that irregularity is not fixed but shaped by laws, administrative practices, and political contexts, varying between states and over time. • Understanding irregular migration requires both snapshots of populations and trajectories of status change. The MIrreM taxonomy maps pathways into and out of irregularity, while making visible the limits of classification. Testo Capitolo di libro https://door.donau-uni.ac.at/o:5682