Abstract The new EU Migration and Asylum Pact, officially adopted in mid-2024, represents a continuation of increasingly restrictive and logistically driven migration policies implemented since the signing of the Schengen Agreements. This paper explores the 2018-2019 ad hoc relocation mechanism, which introduced many of the features that can now be found in the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Through empirical fieldwork conducted in southern Italy, this study highlights the realities faced by migrants in the hotspots of Messina and the reception centre in Crotone, illustrating the logistical practices used to regulate migrant mobility and shedding light on the potential implementation of the Pact. By examining this pilot project, the paper offers insights into the operationalisation of key features of the Pact, including the Solidarity Relocation Mechanism and the concept of non-entry, which positions first reception centres and hotspots as extraterritorial zones. The Pact consolidates a migration and asylum approach increasingly defined by logistical frameworks that emphasise control, efficiency, and regulation, often at the expense of human rights and protection.