Constructing a Crisis: the Role of Immigration Detention in Malta

Abstract

Malta remains the only country in the European Union that maintains an 18‐month, mandatory detention policy for all irregular migrants upon arrival. This paper examines the role that detention has played in the Maltese government's response to the flows of irregular immigration to the island in the 21st century. It argues that detention is symbolic of the crisis narrative that the Maltese government has constructed as a response to these immigration flows in order to gain more practical and financial support from the European Union. The detention policy also serves to reinforce this interpretation of irregular immigration. Such a portrayal, combined with the use of detention as a deterrent, produces detrimental consequences for the migrant population, as well as the wider Maltese society. The paper draws on over 50 interviews, conducted by the author, with government officials, non‐governmental organisations, and migrants and refugees on the island. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conceptual Framework for Speech Language Pathologists to Work with Migrants: A Focus on Malta

“…Pisani and Azzopardi (2008) affirm how Malta has been strongly criticized by European and International organisations on how it handles the arrival of irregular migrants or asylum seekers. Mainwaring (2012) refers to the Maltese policy in dealing with irregular migrants, whereby every irregular migrant is issued with a removal order. Once such individuals apply for asylum (and most of them do soon after arrival) the removal order is lifted; however, they remain in detention for as long as 18 months.…”

“…Mainwaring (2012) interprets this as an endorsement of the Maltese government to treat the arrival of irregular migrants in Malta as a crisis. The author made such claims following the conducting of interviews in Malta between 2008 and 2009 with government officials, representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as with 'irregular' migrants.…”

“…However, on interviewing migrants and refugees, Mainwaring (2012) was given the impression that detention would not put off irregular migrants from landing on Maltese shores; some claimed that they had no point of return and could even stay as long as needed in detention; others claimed that this was not the country they wished to land in and therefore it was more a coincidence rather than a premeditated arrival; whereas others claimed that they were unaware of Malta's detention policy before they landed. Hence, the immigrants perceived Malta's detention policy as ineffective despite the perception of the national authorities.…”

Global Trends in Immigration Detention and Alternatives to Detention: Practical, Political and Symbolic Rationales

“…Increased migration flows, heightened security concerns and processes of globalization have coalesced to create a context in which border control and territorial integrity are central concerns for governments. It is within this context that detention has come to take on important symbolic functions by demonstrating control of borders for citizens and potential future arrivals alike (Leerkes and Broeders 2010;Mainwaring 2012;Pugliese 2008;Welch and Schuster 2005). These "informal" (Leerkes and Broeders 2010) or "noisy" (Welch and Schuster 2005) functions of detention are not codified in law but nevertheless remain crucial to its ongoing use (Mainwaring 2012;Welch and Schuster 2005).…”

“…It is within this context that detention has come to take on important symbolic functions by demonstrating control of borders for citizens and potential future arrivals alike (Leerkes and Broeders 2010;Mainwaring 2012;Pugliese 2008;Welch and Schuster 2005). These "informal" (Leerkes and Broeders 2010) or "noisy" (Welch and Schuster 2005) functions of detention are not codified in law but nevertheless remain crucial to its ongoing use (Mainwaring 2012;Welch and Schuster 2005). Immigration detention thus continues a tradition in which administrative detention is used to address social anxiety and maintain social order, as seen historically in reservations for indigenous populations and internment of enemy aliens (Bashford and Strange 2002;Nethery 2009).…”