Working together to end immigration detention: 19 a collection of noteworthy practices Community-Based Solutions: Transforming the Approach Beyond Detention and Return Community-based solutions are based on a broader case resolution approach, and cannot be viable if they are implemented in the context of policies which focus on deportation and return as the only possible outcome for people in an irregular administrative situation. Such a focus is likely to result in situations marked by socio-economic exclusion, discrimination, and human rights violations, whether in the country of origin when people are forcibly returned or when individuals are compelled to live in an irregular status, often for extended periods. To address this issue, effective and large-scale community-based solutions need to be accompanied by a shift away from considering return as the primary – or often only – option for people in an irregular administrative situation. Instead, there should be consideration of various case resolution options, including pathways to attain a regular residence status. For instance, over 60 national protection statuses exist in the EU in addition to international protection, including on humanitarian or medical grounds, exceptional circumstances, best interest of the child, and non-refoulement.97 Yet, many people still fall through the cracks because people at risk of detention while allowing them to the criteria to apply are too stringent or arbitrary, and live in their communities. These projects take as a because of administrative or legal barriers to access starting point that single adults, families and children these permits or other forms of regularisation. Given without regular residence should themselves be this context, community-based solutions can play a actors of their sustainable future project, and that crucial role in assisting individuals and their families these projects should be based on engagement as they navigate these often complex procedures, rather than enforcement. serving a more extensive purpose than just preventing migration detention. In 2017, the European Alternatives to Detention Network (EATDN)98 was founded by a group of NGOs This chapter will analyse different examples of with the objective to build evidence on engage- community-based solutions that provide case ment-based alternatives to detention. The network is management to support undocumented people and facilitated by IDC and supported by EPIM (European 97 PICUM, 2022, Barriers to return: Protection in international, EU and national frameworks; EMN, 2020, Comparative overview of national protection statuses in the EU and Norway. 98 For more information, see: https://atdnetwork.org/about/.