Policing Migration: A Framework for Investigating the Regulation of Global Mobility

• NCJ Number: 208317
• Journal: Policing & Society Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 195-212
• Author(s): Leanne Weber; Benjamin Bowling
• Date Published: September 2004
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This paper develops an agenda for the critical examination of "migration policing" in Great Britain that considers the historical inclusion and exclusion of immigrant groups, and it proposes a "sites of enforcement" framework to guide further empirical investigations into the operation of immigration control networks.

Abstract

As used in this paper, "migration policing" refers to direct police involvement in the enforcement of immigration law and the control of "immigrant" communities, as well as the police-like activities of immigration authorities and other agencies that are acquiring new coercive powers. Throughout England's history, certain migrant groups have been subjected to surveillance and control by the state because of their designated status as a "problem." In the latter half of the 20th century, the traditions of inclusion and exclusion have been most notable in the public and official reaction to two distinct waves of migration: immigration to Britain from the "New Commonwealth" during the 1950's and 1960's, followed by the arrival of the "New Asylum Seekers" in Europe after the 1980's. Although laws intended to restrict and control these populations were publicly justified in terms of numbers, the origins of these groups were central to the perception of them as a problem. Uncontrolled non-White immigration embodied public fears about the diminishment of national sovereignty due to the loss of empire and the encroachment of the European Union. Overall, there has been a proliferation of sites at which immigration law is enforced and immigrant communities regulated. Further, an increasing number of agencies are being drawn into a network of agencies that enforce immigration law through coercive and deterrence-oriented activities. Conceiving of the wide spectrum of immigration control as linked under the umbrella of "migration policing" opens up the possibility that the research techniques and theories developed in police research can be applied to the emerging issues of "migration policing" in terms of its impact on society. 1 figure, 34 notes, and 62 references