The administrative power of (cr)immigration officers: A study of discretionary decision-making in the enforcement of (cr)immigration laws

DESCRIPTION

Processes of ‘crimmigration’ – the convergence of crime control and immigration control – have attracted academic attention over the last decade. The increasing use of criminal justice tools for controlling immigration has a profound impact on the lives of people involved. Empirical research on crimmigration practices has been conducted in prisons, courts, immigration detention centres, etc., showing that national and European (cr)immigration policies are characterised by exclusionary decision-making mechanisms. Yet, the administrative decision-makers/(cr)immigration officers, who implement these policies and decide on the imposition of crimmigration measures, scientifically, remain a ‘black box’. (Cr)immigration officers are ‘streetlevel bureaucrats’ with large discretionary powers. Insight in their decision-making is indispensable to understand how governmental rationales are translated in concrete social practices and whether and why ‘governmentality gaps’ arise. This research will study Belgian (cr)immigration decision-making practices such as the imposition of (immigration) detention, expulsion, re-entry bans and the revocation of residence permits, and will relate these practices to national and European policy developments and rationales. Ethnographic fieldwork will be carried out at the Belgian Migration department, combining observations, interviews and file analysis.