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

Abstract

Executive SummaryImmigration detention is a growing threat to the well-being of migrants worldwide. While the use of this tool continues to increase, there is a growing consensus by governments on the need to pursue alternative programs. This paper examines the nature of these apparently contradictory developments and the reasons for tension in this area of migration policy. Drawing from research conducted by the International Detention Coalition and La Trobe University, this paper describes the Community Assessment and Placement (CAP) model, which seeks to prevent unnecessary detention, while allowing governments to meet the rationale offered for detention. It argues that the global trends of growth in detention and an increased emphasis on alternatives reflect competing political, policy and operational objectives. For example, governments wish to ensure compliance with deportation orders; alleviate political pressures regarding the harms associated with detention; and demonstrate control of territorial borders. Understanding the multiple rationales that shape this area of migration policy can help make sense of contradictory policy developments and identify the most effective ways to safeguard those who might be subject to detention.

Power, capital, and immigration detention rights: making networked markets in global detention governance at UNHCR

“…They commissioned and collaborated on ethnographic and legal research that affirmed the value of alternative models. Studies focused on demonstrating that people would not abscond but cooperate with authorities, that clear and fair refugee status determination procedures led to compliance with the law, and that alternatives were more financially desirable (see Costello and Kaytaz 2013;Edwards 2011;Sampson and Mitchell 2013). The involvement of these experts gave authority and sought to rationalize the strategy's objectives.…”

‘I Felt Like a Bird Without Wings’: incorporating the study of emotions into grounded normative theory

“…Governments have implemented immigration detention policies for a number of reasons, including the determination of identity, the prevention of absconding during the assessment of a claim to stay, and the deterrence of further unwanted migration (Sampson and Mitchell, 2013;Silverman, 2012;Turnbull, 2017). In this latter case, detention has been shown to play a central role in displaying 'sovereign enforcement, control and power' (Mainwaring and Silverman, 2017, p.21).…”

Migration and Security

“…Australia's "Pacifi c Solution" policy established offshore detention camps for asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea with conditions so dire that they have been called a "crime against humanity" (Hamilton 2017). More broadly, migrant detention and deterrence have spread across the world as accepted state practices (Doty and Wheatley 2013;Meissner et al 2013;Sampson and Mitchell 2013). In Europe and elsewhere, a fusion of government and private, humanitarian, and security interests have resulted in the emergence of an increasingly powerful migration control "industry" (Feldman 2011;Andersson 2014).…”