The European Union Returns Directive: Does it prevent arbitrary detention?

This article provides a critical analysis of immigration detention regime under European Union (EU) law. It assesses the relevant provisions of the EU Returns Directive and their domestic implementation in several EU states against the underlying requirement for any deprivation of liberty not to amount to arbitrary detention. Three elements embodied in this requirement are highlighted: the exceptional nature […]

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Maltese Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security – Access to Information Requests, 30.10.2013

The Maltese Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security’s official responses to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and Access Info Europe in 2013 as part of a joint project to map access to migration-related detention data in several dozen countries in Europe and North America. The results of the investigation were […]

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Irish Department of Justice and Equality – Access to Information Request, 14.10.2013

The Irish Department of Justice and Equality’s official response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and Access Info Europe in 2013 as part of a joint project to map access to migration-related detention data in several dozen countries in Europe and North America. The results of the investigation were reported in […]

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Austrian Ministry of Interior – Access to Information Request, 30.09.2013

The Austrian Ministry of Interior’s official response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and Access Info Europe in 2013 as part of a joint project to map access to migration-related detention data in several dozen countries in Europe and North America. The results of the investigation were reported in the joint […]

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Latvian Ministry of Interior – Access to Information Request, 30.09.2013

The Latvian Ministry of Interior’s official response to an information request submitted by the Global Detention Project and Access Info Europe in 2013 as part of a joint project to map access to migration-related detention data in several dozen countries in Europe and North America. The results of the investigation were reported in the joint […]

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The Hidden Costs of Human Rights: The Case of Immigration Detention

Many liberal democracies betray a noticeable discomfort when it comes to public scrutiny of immigration detention, neglecting to release comprehensive statistics about it, cloaking detention practices in misleading names and phrases, and carefully choosing which activities they define as deprivation of liberty. On the other hand, these same countries have laboured to expand their detention […]

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“Crimmigration” in the European Union through the Lens of Immigration Detention

The phenomenon of “crimmigration”—or the convergence of criminal and immigration laws—appears to have a harmful impact on migrants, ranging from increasing negative attitudes about non-citizens to more restrictive immigration policies. This Global Detention Project working paper argues that immigration detention regulated by European Union (EU) directives represents a peculiar manifestation of crimmigration. In particular, detention provisions […]

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Smoke Screens: Is There a Correlation between Migration Euphemisms and the Language of Detention?

Discursive strategies used to describe people moving across borders can have consequences on their well-being, including limiting their access to legal procedures. This Global Detention Project working paper points to an apparent paradox in these strategies: While language used to describe migrants and asylum-seekers is often euphemistic (or dysphemistic), tending to dehumanise them, language used […]

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