Due to the pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 in 2020, each country promoted strict immigration control policies for quarantine, and South Korea also followed this global trend. However, as the recent pandemic situation has resolved, not only South Korea but also other countries are easing immigration control regulations to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and are returning to open policies for globalization. In this situation, problems with the conventional immigration control policy began to appear again. In particular, despite the decrease in the number of foreigners residing in South Korea amid the pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19, the number of foreigners residing illegally has increased by 20%, and the problem of the increase in illegal foreigners is emerging again. In addition, as the gradual return to daily life begins in earnest and the inflow of foreigners increases rapidly ahead of the end of the pandemic, there are statistical signs that the rate of increase in illegal immigrants is expected to rise very sharply in addition to the existing illegal immigrants. As the view that strong crackdown measures against illegal aliens are needed is gaining ground, the Ministry of Justice has recently expressed its strong will to establish a strict order of stay for foreigners, such as carrying out joint government crackdowns with related ministries to establish a strict order of stay.

  On the one hand, there is the view that since structural problems are responsible for the mass production of illegal foreigners, more efforts should be made toward inclusive policies rather than hard-line policies, taking into account South Korea's workforce structure. In addition, illegal foreigners mainly live as illegal workers in the country, and are socially underprivileged, receiving inhumane and unfair treatment. On the one hand, illegal activities may occur due to the status of illegal immigrants. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of foreigners' illegal stay, it is necessary to pursue both hard-line and inclusive policies.

  First, we conducted a comparative study on the policies toward illegal foreigners in major countries such as the United States, Germany, France, Japan, and Taiwan. As a result, it was found that it is being operated as an immediate response to the current problem situation rather than a macro perspective approach surrounding human rights or policy direction for illegal aliens. However, this approach contains many problems in that it cannot be ruled out that the national policy on illegal aliens may be promoted as a populist policy.

  Next, a survey was conducted targeting 500 citizens about their perceptions and experiences with illegal aliens, the social impact of the increase in illegal aliens, and ways to improve policies on illegal immigrants. Through this, it was found that the majority of survey respondents had a negative impression of illegal foreigners, but agreed to some extent on the fact that illegal foreigners are being treated unfairly in the country. It was confirmed that the reason for the negative impression is that indirect experiences such as legal regulations and names, media, and social opinion, rather than the faults of illegal aliens, have a large influence. However, since social costs are incurred in establishing and implementing policies, the effectiveness of the policy can be ensured by carefully reviewing the social costs and the effectiveness of the policy rather than immediately implementing the policy based on public perception.

  In addition, the laws and regulations that serve as the basis for crackdowns and investigations on human rights violations of illegal aliens must be clearly revised, and the warrant principle must also be applied in protection procedures. And it is necessary to improve the regulations on forced eviction and detention procedures and prepare measures to protect basic human rights to effectively implement policies.