By Manlio Cinalli, Hans-Jörg Trenz, Verena K. Brändle, Olga Eisele and Christian Lahusen

This book examines the ‘European refugee crisis’, offering an in-depth comparative analysis of how public attitudes towards refugees and humanitarian dispositions are shaped by political news coverage.

An international team of authors address the role of the media in contesting solidarity towards refugees from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Focusing on the public sphere, the book follows the assumption that solidarity is a social value, political concept and legal principle that is discursively constructed in public contentions. The analysis refers systematically and comparatively to eight European countries, namely, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Treatment of data is also original in the way it deals with variations of public spheres by combining a news media claims-making analysis with a social media reception analysis. In particular, the book highlights the prominent role of the mass media in shaping national and transnational solidarity, while exploring the readiness of the mass media to extend thick conceptions of solidarity to non-members. It proposes a research design for the comparative analysis of online news reception and considers the innovative potential of this method in relation to established public opinion research.

The book is of particular interest for scholars who are interested in the fields of European solidarity, migration and refugees, contentious politics, while providing an approach that talks to scholars of journalism and political communication studies, as well as digital journalism and online news reception.

London; New York: Routledge, 2021. 220p.

Edited by Peter Scholten Han Entzinger Rinus Penninx Stijn Verbeek

This book is the outcome of a truly European exercise. It all started in May 2008 with a conference called ‘Research-Policy Dialogues on Migration and Integration in Europe’, held at the University of Twente, organised by Peter Scholten, the first editor of this book, who was based at Twente at the time, and Rinus Penninx. This conference was co-sponsored by the IMISCOE Research Network, and some of its contributors decided to continue their joint activities in this field in a special research group under the IMISCOE umbrella. They were all intrigued by the vast differences between European countries in the use of scientific knowledge in policymaking and in the patterns of communication between academic researchers and policymakers when it comes to analysing the impact of immigration and migrant integration. Peter Scholten and Rinus Penninx invited several speakers at the Twente conference to transform their paper into a book chapter. Updated versions of these chapters are included in the present volume. In addition to this, a research proposal was developed by some of the members of the research group. The proposal primarily aimed at gathering more empirical evidence on the functioning of the research-policy nexus in the field of immigrant integration in several EU countries as well as in the EU as such. The proposal was called ‘Science-Society Dialogues on Migration and Integration in Europe’, abbreviated DIAMINT. It was accepted for funding by the Volkswagen Foundation in Hanover under its programme ‘Science, the Public and Society’. The DIAMINT project was carried out between September 2011 and September 2013, under the supervision of Han Entzinger of Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Peter Scholten, who had moved meanwhile to that university. Stijn Verbeek, also at Erasmus University, contributed significantly to both the contents and the organisation of the project. The theoretical design of the present volume as well as most of its chapters constitutes the final report of the DIAMINT project. The project, and the IMISCOE Standing Committee of which the project was part, has also produced a considerable number of journal articles and other output, of which a list appears elsewhere in this book..

IMISCOE Research Series . Cham, SWIT: Springer Nature, 2015 341p.

By Christopher Levesque , Jack DeWaard, Linus Chan, Michele Garnett McKenzie, Kazumi Tsuchiya, Olivia Toles, Amy Lange, Kim Horner, Eric Ryu and Elizabeth Heger Boyle

Examining what we call “crimmigrating narratives,” we show that US immigration court criminalizes non-citizens, cements forms of social control, and dispenses punishment in a non-punitive legal setting. Building on theories of crimmigration and a sociology of narrative, we code, categorize, and describe third-party observations of detained immigration court hearings conducted in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, from July 2018 to June 2019. We identify and investigate structural factors of three key crimmigrating narratives in the courtroom: one based on threats (stories of the non-citizen’s criminal history and perceived danger to society), a second involving deservingness (stories of the non-citizen’s social ties, hardship, and belonging in the United States), and a third pertaining to their status as “impossible subjects” (stories rendering non-citizens “illegal,” categorically excludable, and contradictory to the law). Findings demonstrate that the courts’ prioritization of these three narratives disconnects detainees from their own socially organized experience and prevents them from fully engaging in the immigration court process. In closing, we discuss the potential implications of crimmigrating narratives for the US immigration legal system and non-citizen status.

Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , May 2023 , pp. 407 - 436

By Kim Voss, Fabiana Silva & Irene Bloemraad

Activists do not just ‘name’ problems faced by migrants; they ‘frame’ them, constructing a particular meaning of the social world. Activists in the United States are especially likely to use rights language. Some appeal to human rights; others call on the history and resonance of civil rights. Those who contest immigrant inclusion often instead evoke ‘American values’. Are these competing frames persuasive? Drawing on a survey experiment of California voters, we examine whether these frames affect support for undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens in need. We find that although respondents agree that food insecurity, sexual harassment, and inadequate health care violate the human rights of citizens and noncitizens equally, a human rights frame does not equalise support for government action to address the situation. Indeed, overall, respondents are much less supportive of government action for undocumented immigrants than citizens; neither rights nor value frames mitigate this inequality. The civil rights frame, relative to the American values frame, actually decreases respondents’ support for government action, for citizens and noncitizens alike. The type of hardship also matters: in scenarios concerning sexual harassment, legal status is not a barrier to claims-making. These findings reveal some limits of rights language for mobilisation around immigration.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2019.

By Valeria Gomez

Using the procedural due process framework set forth by the Supreme Court in Mathews v. Eldridge, I argue that the current geographic distribution of immigration courts violates respondents’ rights to procedural due process by inhibiting their ability to appear, present evidence, and secure counsel. In so doing, I highlight the detrimental effects that geography has on remote communities, such as their ability to build pipelines towards access to counsel. Finally, I weigh and propose alternative solutions that balance the government’s interests in efficiency with the respondents’ interests in having a meaningful opportunity to avoid the harsh consequences of deportation.

Wisconsin Law Review, 2023. 45p.

Legally reviewed by Miriam Domer

Though some may mistakenly believe otherwise, noncitizens (also called undocumented immigrants) have a number of legal rights in the United States. These may include the right to due process and a jury trial in certain court proceedings, the right to payment for their work, the right to defend against deportation, and many more.

People who are facing deportation or who have had their Constitutional rights violated may have legal recourse through a number of immigrant-focused resources.

Legal Rights Guide. https://www.legalfinders.com/immigrants-legal-rights-guide/ 2022. 22p.

Edited by Barak Kalir and Malini Sur

This book is a collection of ethnographies of transnational migration and border crossings in Asia. Interdisciplinary in scope, it addresses issues of mobility and Diaspora from various vantage points. Unique to this volume is an emphasis of studying globalisation from below, privileging the narratives and views of —people on the move˜ ­ or the transnational underclass ­ and their sense of belonging to places and communities. The collection is further distinguished by its focus on the sources of authority and the social configurations that are created in the intersections between legality and illegality across Asia. Though previous studies on transnational flows have deconstructed the notion of nation-states as having fixed political boundaries, and have engaged in spaces beyond the nation-states, seldom has an entire region, Asia, been privileged in one integrated volume. We emphasize hitherto marginalized debates that have significant policy relevance. Other than a serious academic interest from lecturers and students, we are confident that the book will be of significant interest for development practitioners and NGOs.

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2012. 268p.

By Emily Ryo and Reed Humphrey

Every year, tens of thousands of migrant children are taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities. Many of these children are unaccompanied by parents or relatives when they arrive at the U.S. border. Others who are accompanied by parents or relatives are rendered unaccompanied when U.S. immigration authorities separate them upon apprehension. Together, these minors are called unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), unless and until their immigration cases are resolved or until the children can be placed with a sponsor in the United States pending the adjudication of their immigration cases. In fiscal year 2019, the ORR held the highest number of UACs in its UAC program history. This study presents the first systematic empirical investigation of children in ORR custody using original administrative records pertaining to migrant children who were in ORR custody between November 2017 and August 2019. Our analysis reveals an increasing number and proportion of children in U.S. custody who are extremely vulnerable: girls, young children of tender age (260 of whom are U.S. citizens), and children emigrating from countries with high rates of crime and violence. This trend suggests that insofar as punitive immigration enforcement policies may have deterred some children from undertaking the dangerous journey to the United States, those who continue to arrive at the U.S. border are likely children who are most in need of special care and legal protection. Yet our analysis raises serious questions about the system’s capacity to afford such care and protection. We find that most migrant children held in custody were concentrated in a small number of states, which are different from the states in which their sponsors reside. Only about 11 percent of children reunified were discharged from facilities located in the same state as their sponsors’ states of residence. In addition, most migrant children were in facilities that are extremely large—for example, shelters with capacities of 100 or more children. We also find deep inequalities in the system that suggest that custodial experiences and outcomes of UACs in ORR custody are closely tied to the particular facility and type of program in which a child happens to be placed. Among other findings, our analysis shows that the median time to reunification varies widely between facilities. For example, one ORR shelter’s median time to reunification was nearly eight times as high as that of another ORR shelter. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and consider critical issues that require further investigation—issues that are central to evaluating how, whether, and to what extent the U.S. government is fulfilling its moral and legal obligation to protect migrant children inside our borders.

UCLA Law Review, 2021. 75p.

By Victoria Boelman, Dr Alessandra Radicati, Amelia Clayton, Sophie De Groot and Oliver Fisher

This research provides rich insight into the experiences of migrant workers in London and the barriers and challenges faced in accessing support and advice in relation to labour rights abuses and exploitation. It draws on interviews conducted by peer researchers, who are themselves migrant workers in London, as well as interviews with advice service providers, and desk research to map the advice sector in London.

London: The Young Foundation, 2023. 70p.

By the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General

The report contains five recommendations aimed at improving management of, and conditions in, CBP short-term holding facilities in the El Paso area of western Texas and New Mexico. Your office concurred with all five recommendations. Based on information provided in your response to the draft report, we consider these recommendations open and resolved. Once your office has fully implemented the recommendations, please submit a formal closeout letter to us within 30 days so that we may close the recommendations. The memorandum should be accompanied by evidence of completion of agreed upon corrective actions and of the disposition of any monetary amounts.

Washington DC: DHS, 2023. 40p.

By Massimo Anelli Bocconi, Tommaso Colussi and Andrea Ichino

Using census data, we study false birth-date registrations in Italy, a phenomenon well known to demographers, in a setting that allows us to separate honesty from the benefits of cheating and deterrence. By comparing migrants leaving a locality with those who remain in it, we illustrate the tendency of Italians to sort themselves across geographic areas according to their honesty levels. Over time, this tendency has modified the average honesty level in each locality, with relevant consequences for the distribution across geographic areas of outcomes like human capital, productivity, earnings growth, and the quality of local politicians and government

The Journal of Law and Economics. Volume 66, Number 2. May 2023

By Marie Segrave, Rebecca Wickes, Chloe Keel and Shiih Joo (Siru) Tan

This research was developed to support and enhance the Australian Government’s A Roadmap for Respect: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (2021). Aligning with national commitments to report on and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace, this research fills a recognised gap in addressing the specificity of migrant and refugee women’s experiences. These are not adequately captured in national data currently collected by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). By building a detailed national picture of the experiences of a diverse group of migrant and refugee women, this research will inform more targeted engagement with women and workplaces regarding unacceptable workplace behaviour.

The research employed a mixed methods approach comprising of two phases: a national survey and a national qualitative project talking to migrant and refugee women and stakeholders across Australia. This report details the findings from a survey of 701 migrant and refugee women.

NSW: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS), 2023. 76p.

By Anniina Jokinen, Natalia Ollus and Anna-Greta Pekkarinen

THIS REVIEW examines the development, regulation and combating of labour trafficking and the exploitation of migrant labour on the basis of an extensive selection of written materials and previous literature. The review highlights findings regarding key actors, their roles, and the most significant changes that have taken place in Finland. In addition, the review briefly analyses Finnish legislation and case law and makes a comparison with other Nordic countries. Finally, an assessment of Finland's approach to tackle labour exploitation and the factors that have led to Finland's current situation is presented, and existing gaps are identified. According to the review, Finnish authorities have in many ways a better ability to tackle labour trafficking and to support its victims than the authorities in the other Nordic countries. Finland has been able to intervene in labour exploitation at least to a certain extent, and the phenomenon has been widely recognized. On the other hand, many remaining problems have been identified, particularly with regard to pre-trial investigations and the enforcement of criminal liability. In the future there should be more consideration to the needs of victims of exploitation, even in situations where the case is not classified as human trafficking. In addition, structural multi-agency cooperation should be developed to combat labour exploitation. Structural multi-agency cooperation will help to ensure that cases of exploitation and trafficking are dealt with comprehensively, that perpetrators are brought to justice and that the rights of victims are respected.

Helsinki: HEUNI, 2023. 74p.

By Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Anniina Jokinen

TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS is largely a hidden form of criminali ty. As an example, it has been estimated in Finland that up to 90 per cent of human trafficking is undetected (Yle 23.3.2021). The overall picture of the phenomenon is bound to be limited because of this, and because the offenders continuously seek new methods and routes for their operations. Since the start of the ELECT THB-project, unforeseen events with a global impact have taken place. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the movement of people and potentially led to changes in the modus operandi of the perpetrators, as well as to changes in the detection of trafficking and exploitation. However, not much is yet known of the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on modus operan di or routes used by traffickers and facilitators. Furthermore, the geopolitical landscape of Europe changed rapidly in 2022 as a result of the escalation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In light of the ongoing war, particular attention has been paid in this report to the risk that Ukrainian refugees face of exploitation and trafficking. The countries covered in this report share similarities but also have their differences. Finland is primarily a country of destination in terms of human trafficking, whereas Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine are countries of origin, transit and destination. There are also differences in the size of the population of these countries, in their labour markets and in the social protection measures that are in place. The profiles of typical victims vary between the countries, ranging from their own citizens to labour migrants, asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants. Regarding labour exploitation, it has been established in all of the countries that migrant workers in particular may face exploitative recruitment and employment practices, especially in low-paid, low-skilled jobs. Perpetrators use different legal and illegal ways to conceal their activities, some of which are presented in this report. As for sexual exploitation, the role of the internet and technology has become increasingly important. This is all the more true as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted travel and in-person contacts and allowed for new ways of recruiting, controlling and exploiting vulnerable persons.

Helsinki: HEUNI, 2023. 94p.

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 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