Behind the desk: Examining decision-making practices of immigration officials in return procedures in Belgium

• In Event: Criminology of Mobility. Panel 8. Deportation, return and undeportability

Abstract

Many scholars have highlighted the crucial role immigration officials embody as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ within restrictive migration control and crimmigration policies (Aas, 2014; Borrelli and Lindberg, 2018). These officials interpret and implement immigration policies and laws through their administrative decisions, significantly influencing people’s lives and shaping migration control while contributing to ongoing migration policy development. This study delves into the working and decision-making practices of immigration officials in return procedures in Belgium. Using expert interviews with five heads of departments within the Immigration Office and an analysis of the case law of the Belgian Council of Immigration Law Litigation, we describe the decision criteria and bureaucratic strategies used by these immigration officials. Our findings highlight the importance of administrative paperwork in their working practices, but also the importance of bureaucratic distancing techniques to mitigate the legitimacy concerns surrounding their decisions. Such administrative procedures, while leading to bureaucratic efficiency, seem to limit the legal safeguards and present hurdles for people seeking ways of reversing negative decisions through appeals processes.

Authors

• Lars Breuls, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Laure Deschuyteneer, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Crime & Society)