“Irregular migration, that is the one that takes place outside of legal channels, carries a series of risks that justify approaching it as a ma- tter of security. ese risks work on a double level: national security and human security. This essay examines the risks operating on the latter, which is those affecting migrants, specifically to the southern border of the EU. The existing model of irregular migration in this area is based on the extraction of profits by facilitators, most of whom belong to Organized Crime. Both the EU and its member countries have recognized the nature of the problem and have put in place measures aimed at increasing border control and pushing barriers the risks for migrants further south. However, this has not reduced the de- mand for the services of facilitators or their turnover. at can be partly explained by the awed approach of some measures, which ignore that migration is a multidimensional phenomenon with a reduced sensibility to the policies of countries of destination. A better understanding of migration would help to come up with an adequate response, aimed at managing migration rather than trying to stop it. is involves creating legal alternatives to irregular migration, re-driving the focus of deterrence measures and providing real incen- tives, so the countries of origin and transit become part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.