Based on a case analysis of Spain, Andreas Baumer develops a system of policy options available to democratic states in response to the phenomenon of irregular migration. This also addresses the question of the tension between control-oriented, pragmatic, and human rights-based policy approaches. Irregular migration will remain a central issue on the agenda of the EU and its member states. It is part of the social reality of open societies and implies different consequences for migrants, the state, and society. The nature of these consequences largely depends on the coherence of the policy approaches that states use to manage these migration processes.