Why is Tebboune calling on undocumented Algerians to return?

When President Abdelmadjid Tebboune urged Algerian youth abroad, “in precarious and irregular situations,” to return and “start a decent life,” many Algerians did a double-take. The announcement, made during a cabinet meeting, promised administrative “regularisation” and leniency for minor offences.

Whilst it was widely welcomed by local officials and much of the national press, those this directly concerns – undocumented Algerians - have reacted with hesitation.

This was not an open call to the diaspora as a whole, but a message to those living on the margins – migrants without legal rights or status, rejected asylum seekers, young people who have been surviving for years in limbo, and political dissidents. The reason is likely that the state sees them as prey ripe for grooming by parties hostile to Algeria.

In fact, only six days after the ‘come home’ appeal, Ahmed Segleb, a prominent social media activist who has been criticising Algeria’s leadership for the past 11 years, used the presidential message of reconciliation to return home.

Tebboune’s call hinted that some youth had been “misled and exploited” abroad, for example. This revealing wording immediately positions the state as the protector of the precarious migrants.

Whilst some may feel there are genuine intentions here, the decision must also be understood as the state reclaiming its citizens, defining who deserves its protection, and reasserting authority over a population that Europe often treats as disposable and not even human.

Algerians on the move

In France, where Algerian migration has deep colonial roots, the continued racist ill-treatment of the population is almost unsurprising. Large-scale movement to mainland France developed from the second half of the 19th century, when Algeria was under French rule and mobility occurred within an imperial system. Whilst this destination continues to be sought by Algerians on the move, the routes they take have diversified over time.

Research on Algerian migration patterns shows that a significant movement to the UK – especially London – emerged in the 1990s, largely linked to Algeria’s civil war violence and asylum dynamics. Many even arrived via France, and perceptions of the UK’s asylum environment played a role in this, according to records from the London Met Repository.

This historical context matters because it reminds us that irregular migration is rarely a simple “choice.” It is a chain of decisions taken under political and economic pressures.

Nevertheless, Fortress Europe’s policies towards migrants today hardly factor in such details, as they develop more and more violent ways to reject people.

And Tebboune’s call landed at a moment when Europe is openly redesigning its ‘return’ system, but not for the better.

In March 2025, the European Commission announced it would be imposing a system that would be “swifter, simpler and more effective”. In other words, more dehumanising and deadly.

Already, with the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted the year before and expected to come into force this year, return procedures are set to become much tougher.The European Parliament voting just last month to harshen deportations and detentions for migrants shows that the direction of travel is clear.

Thus, Algeria’s call to “come home” might just be the state’s way of anticipating that by reframing removals as voluntary, they would be more in control of the terms and timing.

Given that Algeria operates within a numbers-and-compliance ecosystem in which Europe measures “cooperation” and can apply pressure when it wants, including through visa tools, Tebboune’s gesture makes sense.

Bilateral tensions are also likely to have played a role. France, for example, has publicly threatened to review a decades-old migration agreement with Algeria, all amid disputes over deportations and the return of migrants.

We are, after all, operating in a climate of increasing far-right anti-migrant rhetoric dominating France’s political institutions. This has often meant that Algerian migrants are used as scapegoats for the Macron government’s domestic failures.

The far-right has increased calls for raids on migrants, especially targeting individuals under administrative orders to leave French territory. This issue became a significant political flashpoint for the far-right after the jailing of Algerian migrant Dahbia Benkired for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl in France, despite having been ordered to leave the country.

At what cost?

What casts a doubt about the integrity of the Algerian government’s return proposals for undocumented Algerians, however, is the considerable difficulty of such a decision.

Even when life abroad is hard, many cling to the hope of eventually obtaining documentation and being allowed to legally remain in Europe, because this is the only thing that makes all their suffering and sacrifice to reach Western shores worth it.

After all, years of being undocumented means living with the chronic fear of ID checks, losing homes overnight, sudden detention, poverty, abuse, and constantly avoiding authorities. Therefore, the return “empty-handed” (without EU nationality and a pot of gold), after years of telling family they are “managing”, seems shameful to many.

This is why some of the reactions from Algerians across social media were blunt pleas not to force them back.

While some may argue that opportunities are opening up in Algeria for young people, a UN Economic Commission for Africa report notes that real GDP grew by 3.6% in 2024 and is forecast to grow by 4.2% in 2025, with sectoral momentum outside hydrocarbons also observed; this growth remains modest.

This isn’t exactly a credible landing pad for someone returning broke, stigmatised, and disconnected.

Furthermore, if the state seeks voluntary return, it requires more than mere words.

And while some embassies have taken the practical step of publicising how people can apply for “settlement” measures, the challenging part will be building trust. Potential returnees, including political dissidents and opponents of the government, will need credible assurances that there will be no surprises.

Real reintegration pathways, i.e. job placement, short-term housing support, funding grants, and mental health support on arrival, are among the basic requirements.

If Algeria wants its youth to return, the message should be: you can come back without humiliation, without spectacle, and with a genuine second chance.

Rachid Sekkai is a journalist, media coach, and PhD researcher in identity and belonging.

Follow Rachid on X: @RachidSekkai

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@alaraby.co.uk

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.