24 A change of paradigm: no resort to immigration detention Finally, a much more progressive approach based In Uruguay, detention is not applied for migration on alternative solutions can be found in Ecuador purposes and deportation is not considered as the and Uruguay, where non- or less coercive solutions main option for people with irregular migration are used to manage migration and therefore com- status. Articles 9 and 52 of the Migration Act 122 pletely replace detention. In Ecuador, the 2017 establish that if a person has entered or has stayed Migration Law does not include detention among irregularly in the country, the Uruguayan immi- the measures that can be applied in the context gration authority has an obligation to inform and of a deportation procedure. According to Article advise them on the possibilities to regularise their 145, possible measures include: reporting to the immigration status in the country. Deportation is authorities, monetary fines, and other measures only contemplated in exceptional circumstances; that guarantee that the person does not abscond. detention is never an option and is not provided for The law also prohibits the detention of children and in the Migration Act. The UN Committee on Migrant victims of trafficking. The law has effectively ended Workers has underlined that Uruguay’s 2008 the practice of immigration detention, carried out Migration Act could serve as a model for other states until 2017.121 to follow and notes that the Act recognizes that “no 120 case involving a migrant in an irregular situation for administrative reasons warrants detention”.123 120 Ley Organica de Movilidad Humana, n. 938 of 2017. 121 Álvarez Velasco S.; Bayón Jiménez M.; Hurtado Caicedo F.; Pérez Martínez L.; Baroja C.; Tapia J. ; Yumbla M.R., 2021, Viviendo al Límite: Migrantes Irregularizados en Ecuador. 122 Ley de migraciones n. 18250 of 2008, complemented by the Decreto de Reglamentation n°394/009 of 2009. 123 Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 2014, Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Uruguay.