Part I. Introduction and Context prominent in other regions of the world, but European states can still be confronted with such issues in view of migration. In 2014 and 2015, Europe faced what has been termed a ‘European migrant crisis’ or ‘refugee crisis’ with increased migration to the region, and with the EU struggling to respond to the large numbers of migrants arriving. During this crisis, “European immigration officers […] face[d] the particular yet confusing case of stateless people seeking asylum in Europe, with the result that stateless people regularly face long periods of immigration detention waiting to be identified in need of international protection as stateless persons”.468 Migrants can become stateless in the process of migrating, can already be stateless before coming to Europe or can give birth to stateless children after settling in Europe. Stateless people – in particular those who suffer from discrimination and marginalization – might furthermore attempt to find a safer place to stay and could end up in Europe or in another European country. Rashid’s story below illustrates their plight: “Rashid was born in Myanmar. He fled to Bangladesh aged 12 with his mother in 1992 after his father, who was a Muslim rights activist, was killed and his sister was arrested. He lived in Bangladesh for 20 years, first in a refugee camp and then in several villages. Before Rashid’s mother passed away in 2002, she explained to Rashid that he did not possess a valid identity document because the Rohingya of Myanmar had been deprived of their Myanmar nationality. Rashid travelled irregularly to the Netherlands in 2012. He applied for asylum twice and his request was refused both times. After the second rejection he was kept in immigration detention for 8 months. He was eventually released after being presented to the Bangladeshi and Myanmar authorities, both of which refused to accept him as a national. However, following his release he was unable to regularize his stay and he remains without status and sleeps in a homeless shelter. He has lived with instability his entire life and now finds himself alone in a foreign country suffering from nightmares, psychological issues and high blood pressure (even though he is still a young man). He cannot lead a normal life in the Netherlands but equally he cannot go and live anywhere else.”469 The Rohingya are an example of people who are already stateless before coming here, thus demonstrating that statelessness can be a reason to migrate as it is an indicator of the problems and violations of rights that a stateless person could face. In the context of the Syrian Civil War that started in 2011, the already stateless Kurds were among the refugees that came to Europe.470 However, the fact that a person has migrated can 468 469 470 86 Katalin Berényi, ‘Statelessness and the Refugee Crisis in Europe’ (2016) 53 Forced Migration Review 69. ENS, ‘Still Stateless, Still Suffering. Why Europe Must Act Now to Protect Stateless Persons’ (ENS 2014) 5 <www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/fi les/ENS_Still_Stateless_Still_Suffering_ online%20version_2.pdf> accessed 26 September 2021. On this matter see Thomas McGee, ‘Statelessness Displaced: Update on Syria’s Stateless Kurds’ (2016) Statelessness Working Paper Series No. 2016/02 <www.institutesi.org/WP2016_02.pdf> accessed 26 September 2021. Intersentia