Legitimising detention and deportation of illegalised migrant families: reconstructing public controversies in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, the detention and deportation of illegalised migrant families with underage children has recently caused public controversy, resulting in the eruption of anti-deportation protests. This controversy is rooted in the unresolved tension for liberal states to protect chil...
| Published in: | Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies Vol. 49; no. 7; pp. 1589 - 1610 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Apr2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=162805188&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 162805188 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 1369183X 56F jtl: Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies issn: 1369183X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Apr2023 vid: 49 iid: 7 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 162805188 10.1080/1369183X.2021.1965470 ppf: 1589 ppct: 21 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.8MB tig: atl: Legitimising detention and deportation of illegalised migrant families: reconstructing public controversies in Belgium and the Netherlands. aug: au: Wittock, Nathan Cleton, Laura Vandevoordt, Robin Verschraegen, Gert affil: Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium Department of Political Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Department of Conflict and Development, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium su: Legal status of undocumented immigrants Deportation Public demonstrations Children's rights Bureaucracy sug: subj: Legal status of undocumented immigrants Deportation Public demonstrations Children's rights Bureaucracy keyword: anti-deportation protests detention legitimacy migrant families ab: In Belgium and the Netherlands, the detention and deportation of illegalised migrant families with underage children has recently caused public controversy, resulting in the eruption of anti-deportation protests. This controversy is rooted in the unresolved tension for liberal states to protect children's rights on the one hand, while limiting 'unwanted migration' on the other. Previous literature documents protest reactions to efforts to deport families with underage children, as well as general state tactics to legitimize such coercion. This paper instead centres the state's legitimation work in response to societal protest and draws on publicly available material on two recent controversies: the Belgian debate on family detention and the determination of the child pardon in the Netherlands. For Belgium we highlight that the government frames detention as the 'ultimate measure', used only when less restrictive measures 'failed'. For the Netherlands we show how the government reallocates political responsibility from elected officials to bureaucrats. Both strategies transform what is essentially a moral-political debate into a web of administrative procedures and discussions on legal conditions. The Belgian and Dutch governments thus invisibilize moral conflict by drawing it outside the realm of democratic politics, to the backstage of bureaucratic administration. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2023 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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