By Steven Dudley, et al.

Human trafficking is one of the most complex and misunderstood criminal economies in the world. This is especially true along the US-Mexico border, where a smattering of organized crime groups with varying degrees of power and sophistication operate and engage in a wide variety of criminal activities. Estimates vary, but there are now several hundred crime groups operating across Mexico, many of which are connected to human trafficking.1 The question is, what type of connection do they have? Officials often portray human trafficking as being controlled by large, organized crime groups -- frequently referred to as “cartels” -- but the reality on the US-Mexico border illustrates there is a far wider array of groups behind this problem. This report aims to sort through this difficult terrain and analyze the ways in which different types of organized crime groups are involved in human trafficking. The goal is to inform policymakers who are looking to address human trafficking, so they can better focus their limited resources. We also aim to provide relevant stakeholders with opportunities for positive intervention to mitigate this problem. The findings are based on two years of desktop and field research across the Mexican states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Tamaulipas. It includes dozens of in-person and remote interviews with sex workers, trafficking victims, anti-human trafficking advocates, prosecutors, security experts, government officials, researchers, and academics. The team also visited several cities along the US-Mexico border that are known to be major human trafficking hotspots. In addition, we analyzed government data on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions, judicial cases, and previous studies on the topic.

Washington, DC: InSight Crime, 2023. 26p.

By Paul Gowder

What is the American rule of law? Is it a paradigm case of the strong constitutionalism concept of the rule of law or has it fallen short of its rule of law ambitions? This open access book traces the promise and paradox of the American rule of law in three interwoven ways. It focuses on explicating the ideals of the American rule of law by asking: how do we interpret its history and the goals of its constitutional framers to see the rule of law ambitions its foundational institutions express? It considers those constitutional institutions as inextricable from the problem of race in the United States and the tensions between the rule of law as a protector of property rights and the rule of law as a restrictor on arbitrary power and a guarantor of legal equality. In that context, it explores the distinctive role of Black liberation movements in developing the American rule of law. Finally, it considers the extent to which the American rule of law is compromised at its frontiers, and the extent that those compromises undermine legal protections Americans enjoy in the interior. It asks how America reflects the legal contradictions of capitalism and empire outside its borders, and the impact of those contradictions on its external goals.

Oxford; London; New York: Hart, 2021. 215p.

By Magdalena Kmak

This book analyses the multifaceted ways law operates in the context of human mobility, as well as the ways in which human mobility affects law. Migration law is conventionally understood as a tool to regulate human movement across borders, and to define the rights and limits related to this movement. But drawing upon the emergence and development of the discipline of mobility studies, this book pushes the idea of migration law towards a more general concept of mobility that encompass the various processes, effects, and consequences of movement in a globalized world. In this respect, the book pursues a shift in perspective on how law is understood. Drawing on the concepts of ‘kinology’ and ‘kinopolitics’ developed by Thomas Nail as well as ‘mobility justice’ developed by Mimi Sheller, the book considers movement and motion as a constructive force behind political and social systems; and hence stability that needs to be explained and justified. Tracing the processes through which static forms, such as state, citizenship, or border, are constructed and how they partake in production of differential mobility, the book challenges the conventional understanding of migration law. More specifically, and in revealing its contingent and unstable nature, the book reveals how human mobility is itself constitutive of law. This interdisciplinary book will appeal to those working in the areas of migration and refugee law, citizenship studies, mobility studies, legal theory, and sociolegal studies.

Abington, Oxon: New York: Routledge, 2024. 205p.

By Ndubuisi Christian Ani and Jennifer Shahid

Despite robust anti-money laundering and anti-migrant smuggling policies, this study finds that there are few money laundering investigations and charges against smugglers in Senegal and Sierra Leone. Those countries’ financial investigative agencies lack adequate resources and expertise to uncover the illicit proceeds of smugglers, which are often processed through cash and informal channels. This is compounded by a lack of reporting of suspicious transactions by entities vulnerable to money laundering, such as informal money remitters and real estate companies

OCWAR-T Research Report 4 . Africa: ECOWAS, 2023. 24p.

By Xavier Becerra, et al.

As the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ) issues its second report under Assembly Bill 103 (2017) (AB 103) about the conditions within locked facilities housing immigration detainees in California, the nation is in the midst of a struggle to control and prevent outbreaks of COVID-19. Detainees and staff in immigration detention facilities are particularly vulnerable due to the congregate nature of detention, and all parties connected to immigration detention—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), facility leadership and staff, off-site community hospitals, advocates, federal courts, and immigration detainees themselves—have been forced to respond to the crisis. Cal DOJ’s AB 103 review of the three immigration detention facilities featured in this report took place before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and insights gained from these and prior facility reviews prompted Attorney General Xavier Becerra to write to the Acting Secretary for Homeland Security on April 13, 2020, urging the release of immigration detainees and the adoption of safety protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Nonetheless, while the average number of immigrants in ICE’s adult detention facilities across the nation decreased from 37,876 detainees in February 2020 to 19,989 detainees in September 2020, the overall average length of detention significantly increased during the same period from an average of 56.1 days to 91.3 days. This report presents Cal DOJ’s findings with respect to three privately-operated detention facilities: (1) the Adelanto ICE Processing Center (Adelanto), operated by The GEO Group, Inc.: (Geo Group); (2) the Imperial Regional Detention Facility (Imperial), operated by Management Training Corporation (MTC); and (3) the Otay Mesa Detention Center (Otay Mesa), operated by CoreCivic. Cal DOJ staff, along with correctional, medical, and mental health experts, toured each facility; interviewed staff and detainees; and reviewed and analyzed logs, policies, detainee records, and other documents to develop an understanding of the conditions of confinement and standard of care and due process provided to detainees at each facility. In addition, Cal DOJ administered two attorney surveys to analyze barriers and facilitation of due process in each of the three facilities, as well as the impact COVID-19 has had on detainees and their counsel.

San Francisco: California Office of the Attorney General, 2021. 160p.

By Chris Jones, Romain Lanneau, Yasha Maccanico

The use of new technologies is fundamental to the EU’s system of border control and migration management. This report explores their development and deployment over the last three decades, during which time an extensive infrastructure of surveillance systems, databases, biometric identification techniques and information networks has been put in place to provide state authorities with knowledge of – and thus control over – foreign nationals seeking to enter EU or staying in Schengen territory. Digital technologies underpin invasions of privacy, brutal violations of human rights, and make the border ‘mobile’, for example through the increased use of mobile biometric identification technologies, such as handheld fingerprint scanners used by police and border authorities. On the one hand, new technologies are deployed to facilitate the movements of “bona fide” travellers. In the years to come, tourists and businesspeople will be required to hand over increasing amounts of personal information to EU and member state authorities in exchange for being granted entry to the EU. That information will then be used to train algorithms that will be applied to new applications to enter the bloc, in order to assess the level of risk or threat posed by individuals (and, where that level is deemed too high, to deny them the ability to travel to the EU). On the other hand, new technologies are deployed to detect, deter and repel refugees and migrants seeking to enter EU territory through irregular journeys. Drones, cameras, social media monitoring, satellite imagery and networks of sensors form part of an elaborate surveillance architecture that is being continually extended. Those who do manage to enter EU territory – which is to say, if they are not illegally pushed back by EU authorities, or prevented from leaving a “third country” – are also biometrically registered and screened against a multitude of national and international databases. If they are deported, international data-sharing systems are increasingly being used to facilitate that task

London: Statewatch, 2023. 45p.

By Donald Kerwin and Evin Millet

The US immigration court system seeks to “fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly administer and interpret US immigration laws” (DOJ 2022a). It represents the first exposure of many immigrants to due process and the rule of law in the United States, and occupies an integral role in the larger US immigration system. Yet it labors under a massive backlog of pending cases that undermines its core goals and objectives. The backlog reached 1.87 million cases in the first quarter of FY 2023 (Straut-Eppsteiner 2023, 6). This paper attributes the backlog to systemic failures in the broader immigration system that negatively affect the immigration courts, such as:

• Visa backlogs, United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) application processing delays, and other bottlenecks in legal immigration processes.

• The immense disparity in funding between the court system and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies that feed cases into the courts.

• The failure of Congress to pass broad immigration reform legislation that could ease pressure on the enforcement and court systems.

• The lack of standard judicial authorities vested in Immigration Judges (IJs), limiting their ability to close cases; pressure parties to “settle” cases; and manage their dockets.

• The absence of a statute of limitations for civil immigration offenses.

• Past DHS failures to establish and adhere to enforcement priorities and to exercise prosecutorial discretion (PD) throughout the removal adjudication process, including in initial decisions to prosecute.

• The location of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees US immigration courts, within the nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ).

• The misconception of many policymakers that the court system should primarily serve as an adjunct to DHS.

• A past record of temporary judge reassignments and government shutdowns.

The paper supports a well-resourced and independent immigration court system devoted to producing the right decisions under the law. Following a short introduction, a long section on “Causes and Solutions to the Backlog” examines the multi-faceted causes of the backlog, and offers an integrated, wide-ranging set of recommendations to reverse and ultimately eliminate the backlog. The “Conclusion” summarizes the paper’s topline findings and policy proposals.

Journal on Migration and Human SecurityOnlineFirst, May 25, 2023

By Iffat Idris

This paper explores the links between conflict, irregular migration, human trafficking and other illicit flows along transnational pathways in West Africa – focusing on Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Libya as well as the responses to these.

Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, International Development Department, College of Social Sciences University of Birmingham., 2022. 40p.

By the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

The release of this report marks ten years since Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, made the choice to send over 3000 men, women and children who sought asylum by sea to offshore detention centres and deny them permanent resettlement. The report touches on the stories of seven people subjected to offshore detention since July 19, 2013. The people interviewed and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre call for the immediate evacuation of the 80 people remaining in Papua New Guinea (PNG), permanent resettlement for all, and a Royal Commission into offshore detention. The Albanese Government evacuated refugees from Nauru. However, people are still trapped in PNG and thousands have been denied the ability to rebuild their lives in Australia.

Footscray VIC : ASRC, 2023. 29p.

Edited by Herbert R. Reginbogin, ‎Christoph Safferling

60 years after the trials of the main German war criminals, the articles in this book attempt to assess the Nuremberg Trials from a historical and legal point of view, and to illustrate connections, contradictions and consequences. In view of constantly recurring reports of mass crimes from all over the world, we have only reached the halfway point in the quest for an effective system of international criminal justice. With the legacy of Nuremberg in mind, this volume is a contribution to the search for answers to questions of how the law can be applied effectively and those committing crimes against humanity be brought to justice for their actions.

Berlin: De Gruyter Saur, 2006. 320p.

Edited by Carin Kuoni and Laura Raicovich

There have been few times in US American history when the very concept of freedom of speech—its promise and its contradictions—has been under greater scrutiny. Guided by acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and activist Amar Kanwar, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School convened a series of public seminars on freedom of speech with the participation of some of the most original thinkers and artists on the topic. Structured as an open curriculum, each seminar examined a particular aspect of freedom of speech, reflecting on and informed by recent debates around hate speech, censorship, sexism, and racism in the US and elsewhere. Studies into Darkness emerges from these seminars as a collection of newly commissioned texts, artist projects, and resources that delve into the intricacies of free speech. Providing a practical and historical guide to free speech discourse and in-depth investigations that extend far beyond the current moment, and featuring poetic responses to the crises present in contemporary culture and society around expression, this publication provocatively questions whether true communication is ever attainable.

Amherst, MA: Amherst College Press, 2022. 390p.

By Doug Coulson

All judges legitimize their decisions in writing, but US Supreme Court justices depend on public acceptance to a unique degree. Previous studies of judicial opinions have explored rhetorical strategies that produce legitimacy, but none have examined the laudatory, even operatic, forms of writing Supreme Court justices have used to justify fundamental rights decisions. Doug Coulson demonstrates that such “judicial rhapsodies” are not an aberration but a central feature of judicial discourse.

First examining the classical origins of divisions between law and rhetoric, Coulson tracks what he calls an epideictic register—highly affective forms of expression that utilize hyperbole, amplification, and vocabularies of praise—through a surprising number of landmark Supreme Court opinions. Judicial Rhapsodies recovers and revalues these instances as significant to establishing and maintaining shared perspectives that form the basis for common experience and cooperation.

Amherst, MA: Amherst College Press, 2023. 285p.

ByEnrico Michelini

Drawing on original research, this book looks at what sport can tell us about the social processes, patterns and outcomes of forced migration and the ‘refugee crisis’. The book explores four key aspects of sport’s intersection with forced migration. Firstly, it looks at how the media covers sport in relation to the ‘refugee crisis’, specifically coverage of refugee elite athletes. Secondly, it examines the adaptation of sport organisations to the ‘refugee crisis’, including the culture, programmes and structures that promote or obstruct sport for refugees. Thirdly, the book looks at sport in refugee sites, and how sport can be used as therapy, an escape or empowerment for refugees but also how it can reinforce the divisions between staff and the refugees themselves. Finally, the book looks at how forced migration influences and is influenced by participation in elite sport, by examining the biographies of elite migrant athletes.

London: Routledge, 2023. 142p.

By Abigail Andrews And the students of the Mexican Migration Field Research Program

The world is changing so fast that it's hard to know how to think about what we ought to do. We barely have time to reflect on how scientific advances will affect our lives before they're upon us. New kinds of dilemma are springing up. Can robots be held responsible for their actions? Will artificial intelligence be able to predict criminal activity? Is the future gender-fluid? Should we strive to become post-human? Should we use drugs to improve our intimate relationships — or to reduce crime? Our intuitions about questions like these are often both weak and confused. David Edmonds has put together a philosophical task force to get to grips with these challenges. Twenty-nine philosophers present provocative and engaging pieces about aspects of life today, and life tomorrow — birth and death, health and medicine, brain and body, personal relationships, wrongdoing and justice, the internet, animals, and the environment. The future won't look the same when you've finished this book.

Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2023.

By Nicole MartinRogers

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force was created to examine the root causes, systemic problems, and potential solutions to violence against indigenous women and girls in Minnesota, including members of the two spirit community. Established by the Minnesota Legislature and signed into law by Governor Tim Walz in 2019, the task force includes representatives from 11 tribal nations, community and advocacy organizations, legislators, law enforcement, and the legal field. Wilder Research assisted the task force, conducting extensive research and facilitating public hearings and comment sessions across Minnesota.

The report includes 20 mandates in five key areas from the task force for the Minnesota Legislature, state agencies, tribes, and other stakeholders to address the MMIW injustice:

• Address systemic causes

• Collect and report data on violence against Indigenous women and girls

• Address policies and practices in institutions that impact violence against Indigenous women and girls

• Reduce and eliminate violence against Indigenous women and girls

• Help Indigenous women and girls who are victims/survivors, their families, and their communities

St. Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 2020. 163p

Canada Privy Council Office

The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.

The Final Report is comprised of the truths of more than 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, experts and Knowledge Keepers shared over two years of cross-country public hearings and evidence gathering. It delivers 231 individual Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries and all Canadians.

As documented in the Final Report, testimony from family members and survivors of violence spoke about a surrounding context marked by multigenerational and intergenerational trauma and marginalization in the form of poverty, insecure housing or homelessness and barriers to education, employment, health care and cultural support. Experts and Knowledge Keepers spoke to specific colonial and patriarchal policies that displaced women from their traditional roles in communities and governance and diminished their status in society, leaving them vulnerable to violence.

Ottawa, Canada Privy Council Office, 2019. Vol. 1a: 2019, 728p. Vol. 1b, 2019. 352p.

Canada Privy Council Office

The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.

The Final Report is comprised of the truths of more than 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, experts and Knowledge Keepers shared over two years of cross-country public hearings and evidence gathering. It delivers 231 individual Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries and all Canadians.

As documented in the Final Report, testimony from family members and survivors of violence spoke about a surrounding context marked by multigenerational and intergenerational trauma and marginalization in the form of poverty, insecure housing or homelessness and barriers to education, employment, health care and cultural support. Experts and Knowledge Keepers spoke to specific colonial and patriarchal policies that displaced women from their traditional roles in communities and governance and diminished their status in society, leaving them vulnerable to violence.

Ottawa, Canada Privy Council Office, 2019. Vol. 1a: 2019, 728p. Vol. 1b, 2019. 352p.

By Emily J. Hanson

Across many countries and in the United States, Indigenous peoples—women and girls in particular—are disproportionately affected by violence. In the United States, for example, 84% of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women and 82% of AI/AN men reported experiencing violent victimizations in their lifetime. Studies have also shown that Native American children are more likely to experience abuse and trauma than their non-Native peers. Additionally, as of June 2023, 3.5% of the missing persons included in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) were identified as AI/AN, which was more than three times their percentage in the U.S. population (1.1%). Advocacy by Native American and other Indigenous communities has brought increased attention to experiences of violence in Indigenous communities using the terms Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). This report provides an overview of recent research and commonly cited barriers to addressing MMIP, background on legislation and programming to improve data collection and criminal justice services for Native Americans, and selected policy issues Congress may consider when conducting oversight or considering legislation related to MMIP. In recent years, the federal government has made efforts to address MMIP and the high rate of violence experienced by Native Americans. This report provides background on these issues, including an in-depth review of major sources of data on missing Native Americans and violent victimizations. Data sources include the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, as well as federal databases tracking missing persons. These data sources present a consistent picture of high rates of violent victimization of Native Americans. The report then discusses three common barriers to the federal government’s and criminal justice systems’ ability to fully understand and address MMIP. The first potential barrier is the relative lack of culturally specific services for Native American crime victims who live outside of tribal lands. Second, complicated jurisdictional overlaps between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement can lead to confusion regarding responsibility for investigations and prosecutions of crimes that occur on tribal land and can lead to loss of time and inefficient use of resources. The third barrier concerns gaps in the criminal justice data about MMIP. The report next discusses federal legislation and initiatives related to MMIP, including alerts for missing persons, efforts to encourage collaboration across federal agencies and with tribal governments, and efforts to improve data collection. This section covers Operation Lady Justice, which was created by Executive Order 13898, and the recently launched U.S. Department of the Interior Missing and Murdered Unit. Recent federal legislation to address MMIP is also discussed, including Savanna’s Act (P.L. 116-165) and the Not Invisible Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-166). The report concludes with a discussion of MMIP issues policymakers might consider when conducting oversight or considering legislation.

Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2023. 43p.

By the United States Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Effective, multidisciplinary partnerships have long been essential to the success of the “3P” framework of prosecution, protection, and prevention in global anti-trafficking efforts. A comprehensive approach to human trafficking requires governments to prioritize multiple layers of cooperation, including internally between government agencies and externally with other governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, media, community leaders, NGOs, and survivors and survivor-led organizations. The 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) introduction examines and highlights how governments and a wide range of stakeholders have used partnerships to advance anti-trafficking priorities and goals. The introduction also shares innovative approaches and specific examples of partnerships that have complemented and supported the success of prosecution, protection, and prevention efforts.

Washington, DC: United States Department of State, 2023. 94p.

By The Mixed Migration Centre

Indonesia is a destination country for refugees, and a key transit country, for refugees intending to be resettled to third countries, as well as for those seeking to journey onwards to Malaysia. According to the UNHCR, as of November 2022, 71% of refugees in Indonesia are from Afghanistan, Somalia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. This snapshot finds that Afghan, Somali and Rohingya 4Mi respondents engage with smugglers in very different ways to reach Indonesia. It examines the routes taken by respondents, interactions with smugglers, and perceptions of smugglers’ roles in their migratory journey.

Mixed Migration Centre, 2023. 12p.