UK:
Good to see the growing momentum behind the 'safe and legal routes to asylum' movement. But I fear that we will struggle to make much of an impact on government policy.

1. The whole notion of welcoming refugees is contrary to the culture of the government and its right-wing supporters, even if those refugees were to be pre-selected and were to arrive in an 'orderly' manner. (With the possible exception of Hong Kongers).

2. It suits the government to have high-profile media coverage of a few boat arrivals, which are then countered by the full power of the state & its armed forces. It criminalizes asylum-seeking, makes the authorities look tough & plays into the whole 'taking back control' agenda.

3. Now that Farage has taken up the question of 'illegal migration', the government will not allow itself to be outflanked by him & his ilk. It can also use asylum as a 'wedge issue' to discomfort & embarrass other political parties.

4. 'Safe and legal routes' is in danger of becoming a slogan. More work needed by its supporters to show how this approach might work in practice. And how, if such routes were to be established, the issue of 'spontaneous arrivals' would be addressed.

5. Because as we have seen with the Australian resettlement programme, safe and legal routes can also be used to demonize those asylum seekers who arrive by other means. (In other words, the 'queue-jumper' argument will be deployed against them.)

6. My own view? Continue to push for specific types of safe & legal route (resettlement, relocation, evacuation, family reunion, scholarship & refugee employment programmes) even if the numbers are modest.

7. And don't expect the establishment of such routes to resolve the issue of asylum seekers arriving by unsafe, irregular and risky means.

8. Some further thoughts from me on this (two links), one article making the case for safe & legal routes, and the other identifying their constraints & limitations:
https://www.moas.eu/saving-lives-and-protecting-human-rights-why-safe-and-legal-routes-are-needed-for-refugees/
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2015/04/28/legal-routes-no-easy-fix-eu-migration-crisis