Criminology of Mobility. Panel 9. Changing landscapes of immigration detention

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

This roundtable will present the Special Issue 'Changing Landscapes of immigration detention' published in the journal Punishment and Society. The issue brings together different geographic locations and empirical cases to provide a set of tools for analyzing the complex landscape of immigration detention today.
For over a decade, the study of immigration detention has captured the attention of punishment and society scholars, who have emphasized its role in expanding the penal landscape and transforming traditional punishment. Existing research has revealed the mutable character of immigration detention regimes compared to other forms of penal power, highlighting their flexibility and enduring nature. Despite this wealth of scholarship, a gap remains in conceptual tools and empirical explorations to comprehensively understand subregional and country variations in immigration detention systems. This roundtable seeks to contribute to filling this gap by discussing diverse case studies and practices that illustrate the nuanced aspects of immigration detention systems and the varied forms this practice takes. Our objective is to showcase the dynamic contexts shaping detention, resulting in national systems influenced by unique combinations of socioeconomic, political, and legal trends historically configured and connected to countries' post/neo/colonial histories. Additionally, we will explore influential forces that significantly impact the establishment of detention regimes, including immigration and refugee models and the influence of specific penal traditions on immigration detention technologies. Our aim is to overcome challenges in engaging in multidisciplinary and international conversations due to the singularities of different cases, diverse disciplinary approaches, and the prevalence of methodological nationalism.

Subtopic

• Topic 5: Social Control and Criminal Justice / Crime Control and the Immigration System (Immigration, Crime and Citizenship WG)

Chair

• Cristina Fernandez Bessa, University of A Coruna

Discussant

• Giulia Fabini, University of Bologna

Individual Presentations

• Analytical Dimensions for exploring the Changing Landscapes of Immigration Detention - Ana Ballesteros-Pena, Complutense University of Madrid; Cristina Fernandez Bessa, University of A Coruna

• Multiple functions of immigration detention: Police measures in the governance of mobile populations - Jukka Könönen, Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki

• Border control within Spanish prisons? Intersections between immigration control and imprisonment at the southern border of Europe - Cristina Güerri, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

• The obsolescence of detention: Versatility, expendability and plasticity in the field of immigration confinement - Jose A. Brandariz, University of A Coruna