The recent unprecedented influx of migrants has created an unsustainable situation for EU member states. Small, local communities are especially vulnerable to the effects of migration, which strains infrastructure and stretches resources to their limits. Irregular migration has become a particularly contentious issue, and more needs to be done by politicians to secure Europe's borders.
Draconian EU policies are driving desperate migrants to pursue the most dangerous routes to Europe, including traveling across the Atlantic to Spain's Canary Islands, which are less closely monitored than other routes. Rather than letting the populist right-wing convince the electorate that those risking their lives for a shot at a more secure future are the enemy, the EU needs to come together with a more compassionate and effective strategy for facilitating legal asylum applications.