Enacting immigration politics in a juridical register

Abstract

This is a longstanding theme in comparative studies of law and policy, one that is present in both English-language and French-language scholarship (see Gessner and Thomas 1988;Lascoumes 1990). A somewhat similar focus is found in studies of street-level bureaucracy (see, e.g., Brodkin 2013; Lipsky 2010).

Bureaucracies Under Judicial Control? Relational Discretion in the Implementation of Immigration Detention in Swiss Cantons

“…They show that repeated engagement with the courts can shape how political actors approach immigration issues and that the courts redefine bureaucrats’ perception of what is lawful, which leads them to adapt their practices (Mascia, 2020). Judicialization of immigration and asylum policies may also involve strategic moves and mutual anticipations between the administration and the legal defense of migrants, both trying to influence and change case law (Kawar & Miaz, 2021; Miaz, 2021). In this article, we analyze the impact of judicial review on bureaucratic practices by showing how varying levels of “strictness” and expectations of judicial review differently shape bureaucrats’ use of immigration detention.…”