Detention of asylum seekers in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy

Abstract

Although criminologists in the US and Europe continue to explore issues of immigration, race, and ethnicity in the context of crime, they have yet to examine the detention of asylum seekers. Still, this is a social phenomenon that requires serious consideration since in many instances such policies and practices violate international standards for the protection of refugees. This work takes a critical look at the detention of persons fleeing persecution by situating it an expanding culture of control stoked by the criminology of the other. The article offers evidence of a steady increase in the reliance on detention of asylum seekers in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Indications of a conservative shift in criminological thought affecting crime—and asylum—policy are addressed alongside concerns for human rights in a post-September 11 world.