What are we afraid of? Exploring risk and immigration detention

Lindley, Anna

Abstract

Risk assessment is a prominent feature of managed migration regimes. How risk is conceptualised and operationalised, however, is highly contested terrain. The extent to which immigration detention represents an appropriate response to specific risks posed by people with contingent or no legal status is particularly hotly debated. In the UK, an early adopter and until recently an eager developer of detention , the policy is that immigration officers carry out individualised risk assessments on each person detained, considering removal prospects, risk of flight, and offending as well as the risk of harm to the individual. Drawing on published reports, government statistics, and interviews with close observers, this article explores the premises, policy, practice, and outcomes of these processes. The analysis flags multiple issues, suggesting that risk evaluation in relation to immigration detention is far from a well-oiled and reliable machine, causes unnecessary human harm, operates in a way that generates unforeseen risks for wider society, and points to other logics shaping detention.

Citation

Lindley, A. (2020). What are we afraid of? Exploring risk and immigration detention. Migration Studies, 9(1), 90-114. https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnaa021

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 12, 2020
• Publication Date: Aug 20, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 12, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 12, 2020
• Journal: Migration Studies
• Print ISSN: 2049-5838
• Electronic ISSN: 2049-5846
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 90-114
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnaa021
• Related Public URLs: https://academic.oup.com/migration/advance-article/doi/10.1093/migration/mnaa021/5894662?guestAccessKey=fdeeb34c-dc05-4327-ae67-8301d03bb0e8