As Finland Closes Eastern Border, Authorities Announce Plans for New “Registration Centres”

In response to what authorities have described as “instrumentalised migration” at its eastern frontier, in November Finland took the extraordinary step of closing its entire border with Russia. The government has also permitted the Immigration Service to establish “registration centres” where arrivals can be held for up to seven days.  In November, Finland recorded a […]

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Immigration Detention in the European Union

This book offers a unique comparative assessment of the evolution of immigration detention systems in European Union member states since the onset of the “refugee crisis.” By applying an analytical framework premised on international human rights law in assessing domestic detention regimes, the book reveals the extent to which EU legislation has led to the adoption of laws and practices that may disregard fundamental rights and standards. […]

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Metsälä Detention Unit for Foreign Nationals from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2020 visit to Finland)

B. Foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under aliens legislation (Read full CPT report)25. There had been no major changes to the legal framework for immigration detention since the2014 visit. As previously, foreign nationals could be deprived of their liberty by the police or theBorder Guard if it was necessary to establish their identity, to […]

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Finland Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)

Finland Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Finland, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Finland Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Finland: Country Page Finland: COVID-19 Updates Report: Immigration Detention in Finland: Limited Use of “Alternatives,” Restrictive Detention Review, Divisive Political Debate […]

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Finland: Covid-19 and Detention

Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the deputy director of the Joutseno Reception Centre reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders had been established in the country. The administration said that new detention orders have been issued during the Covid-19 crisis period but that the number of detainees has been lower […]

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Finland: Covid-19 and Detention

Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman, which also acts as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for the country, reported that Finland has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders. However, according to the police, the threshold for immigration detention has been higher than usual. The Ombudsman indicated that […]

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Immigration Detention in Finland: Limited Use of “Alternatives,” Restrictive Detention Review, Divisive Political Debate

Finland does not place as many migrants and asylum seekers in detention as do neighbouring Sweden and other nearby European countries. However, the country’s authorities rarely grant “alternatives to detention,” instead deeming detention to be the most efficient and cost-effective method for removing non-citizens from the country. […]

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Capitalism and Immigration Control: What Political Economy Reveals about the Growth of Detention Systems: GDP Working Paper #16

Assessments of the political economy of detention point to a key challenge that is common to countries across the globe: how economic insecurities of host population’s translate into xenophobia and ethno-nationalist demands for more deportations, detentions, and walls. […]

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Finnish Immigration Service – Access to Information Requests, 25.03.2013 & 28.03.2013

The Finnish Immigration Service’s official responses to information requests 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 publication, “The […]

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