Understanding immigration detention

Bosworth, Mary

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199675470.003.0003

Cited by 98 publications

(204 citation statements)

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“…The 'carceral contract' (Sanchez, 2007), always subject to entrepreneurial expansion via the private sector, was vastly extended by the 'war on terror' and, these days, knows few bounds. Immigration law offers another example of the changing nature of state power, particularly in its growing intersection with criminal law (Stumpf, 2006), while immigration detention centres present a concrete site in which to explore the impact of these developments (Bosworth, 2007(Bosworth, , 2011a. In liberal democracies, foreign nationals, no matter how long they have been resident, simply can no longer lay claim to the same kinds of legal protections as citizens (Zedner, 2010).…”

Section: Punishment and Society In A Global Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, what do such institutions suggest about 'doing' the sociology of punishment? An article of this length cannot answer all of these questions in equal depth, but I raise them here as part of an ongoing intellectual engagement with the criminology of mobility (see, for example, Aas and Bosworth, 2013;Bosworth, 2007Bosworth, , 2008Bosworth, , 2011aBosworth, , 2011bBosworth and Guild, 2008;Bosworth and Kaufman, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subjectivity and identity in detention: Punishment and society in a global age

Bosworth

2012

Theoretical Criminology

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This article draws on ethnographic research that I conducted in five British immigration removal centres from November 2009 to June 2011, and considers the challenges these institutions pose to our understanding of penal power. These centres contain a complex mix of foreign national citizens including former and current asylum seekers, those without visas, visa over-stayers and post-sentence foreign national prisoners. For many non-British offenders, a period of confinement in an immigration detention centre is now, effectively, part of their punishment. What are the implications of this dual confinement and (how) can we understand it within the intellectual framework of punishment and society?

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Section: Punishment and Society In A Global Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjectivity and identity in detention: Punishment and society in a global age

Bosworth

2012

Theoretical Criminology

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129

124

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“…Acknowledging this scenario, many activists, academics, journalists, and members of civil‐society organizations have denounced the illegitimacy of migration‐related detention centers, also defining them as “sites of exception, where regimes of police prevail over regimes of rights” (Fassin, , p. 219). In particular, scholars from various disciplines—such as anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, law, criminology, and cultural studies—have been engaged on this issue, addressing detention within a broader analysis of border regimes (for an overview of the literature see Bosworth, ). However, due to limited access to detention facilities, only a few studies have documented the lived experiences of the people inside them (e.g., Bosworth, ; Campesi, ; Fili, ; Fischer, ; Hall, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, scholars from various disciplines—such as anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, law, criminology, and cultural studies—have been engaged on this issue, addressing detention within a broader analysis of border regimes (for an overview of the literature see Bosworth, ). However, due to limited access to detention facilities, only a few studies have documented the lived experiences of the people inside them (e.g., Bosworth, ; Campesi, ; Fili, ; Fischer, ; Hall, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of Sites of Confinement: Everyday Life in a Detention Center for Illegalized Non‐citizens

Esposito

Ornelas

Briozzo

et al. 2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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Highlights• In spite of concerns about migration-related detention, research inside these sites of confinement is scarce.• We present an ethnographic exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy.• Transcending individual-centered analysis, we adopt an ecological framework with a focus on justice.• We contribute to create knowledge on the psychosocial and cultural world behind the walls of detention.• We discuss the oppressive qualities of detention and avenues for research and action for community psychologists.Abstract Drawing on almost 3 years of fieldwork, comprising qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, this study provides an exploration into the detention of illegalized non-citizens in Italy. Taking the largest detention center as a case study, the fabric of everyday life and the lived experiences of people, both detainees and professional actors, are the focus of examination. An ecological community psychology framework, with a focus on justice, guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Findings highlight the oppressive qualities of detention, and its ripple effects on people's life spaces. Scarcity of resources, activities, and information created a very distressing environment for detainees, also enhancing feelings of powerlessness and frustration in professionals willing to assist them. Uncertainty and instability, rather than coercion or discipline, emerged as modes of governing and dominating. Bound in a different space and time, detainees were turned into unwanted and expendable others, their confinement becoming a means to extract profit from them. Yet, people languishing in these sites displayed an extraordinary ability to cope with, resist, and challenge the persisting conditions of injustice they endured. We conclude by highlighting the potential of the proposed framework, and discussing broader implications of our findings and avenues for research and action.

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“…Secondly, it can be argued that immigration rhetoric unites a wholly disparate group of human beings, most of whom can be categorized under the broad rubric of ‘foreigner’. This discursive approach tends to ‘lump together’ quite disparate groups of ‘non‐UK citizens’ and conflates the widespread differences between asylum seekers and refugees with economic migrants, victims of trafficking and foreign nationals who are serving time in prison (Malloch and Stanley, ; Bosworth, ; ; ; Bosworth and Guild, ).…”

Section: Theoretical Précismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Right to Rent: Active Resistance to Evolving Geographies of State Regulation

Crawford¹,

McKee²,

Leahy³

2019

Int J Urban Regional Res

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Drawing on recent qualitative research on the UK's Immigration Act 2016, this article sets out to explain the opposition of social housing professionals to the imposition of the Right to Rent. By locating this policy intervention within the evolving geographies of state regulation, it is possible to account for the mechanisms through which housing professionals can resist the extension of duties that were previously the remit of border agents and immigration officials. Synthesizing Bourdieu's critical sociology with Boltanski and Thevenot's sociology of critique helps explain not only the governmental underpinnings of contemporary immigration rhetoric, but also the forms of resistance for which housing professionals display a strong justification in exercising. The universal nature of 'classification struggles' within and beyond state institutions extends the relevance of this research to encompass most, if not all, welfarist regimes operating within actually existing neoliberal orders. The analysis of the findings of this research has wider implications that reach beyond housing and urban studies while immigration persists as one of the most significant contemporary political issues, almost without geographical exception, right across the globe.

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Understanding immigration detention

Cited by 98 publications

References 0 publications

Subjectivity and identity in detention: Punishment and society in a global age

Subjectivity and identity in detention: Punishment and society in a global age

Ecology of Sites of Confinement: Everyday Life in a Detention Center for Illegalized Non‐citizens

The Right to Rent: Active Resistance to Evolving Geographies of State Regulation

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