Europe: The Spectre of Detention Looms across the Continent as Immigration Pressures Grow

So far this year, 233,500 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe’s Mediterranean region, compared to 159,410 during the whole of 2022. Several EU states–including the EU’s three largest economies, Germany, France, and Italy–have focused on intensifying detention measures as a tool for responding to these growing challenges, raising concerns about the region’s faltering commitment […]

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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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Immigration Detention in Germany: From Open Arms to Public Backlash

During the height of Europe’s migration “crisis,” Germany was one of the few EU countries to openly embrace assisting refugees, registering more than a million arrivals in less than two years. However, this stance spurred a public backlash, which led to the adoption of a host of restrictive measures, including policies intended to increase removals, limit family reunifications, and expand the range of facilities that can be used to detain migrants. […]

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Germany Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)

Germany Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Germany, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Germany Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Germany: Country Page Immigration Detention in Germany: From Open Arms to Public Backlash Staff Publications: Private Prison Labour – Paradox or Possibility? […]

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Private Prison Labour: Paradox or Possibility?

Private Prison Labour: Paradox or Possibility? Evaluating Modern-Day Systems and Establishing a Model Framework Through the Lens of the Forced Labour Convention. UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence , 8 (2) , Article 4. Overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, ever-increasing costs, recidivism. These are the terms that come to mind when thinking of the world’s punitive justice systems. Ostensibly, […]

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Global Working Group of National Societies Working in Immigration Detention

On 20 March, the GDP was invited to make a presentation about our report “Harm Reduction in Immigration Detention” at the annual meeting of the Global Working Group of National Societies Working in Immigration Detention, a gathering of National Societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement co-hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross. […]

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Harm Reduction in Immigration Detention - GDP & Norwegian Red Cross

Immigration detention in Germany

Germany’s immigration detention system has undergone major changes since a 2014 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union condemning the country’s use of prisons for immigration purposes. Since then, the country’s detention infrastructure has shrunk from more than 20 to seven long-term facilities, even as new laws have broadened the grounds justifying […]

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Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR): Germany

Germany Joint Global Detention Project and Jesuit Refugee Service Germany Submission to the Universal Periodic Review 30th session of the UPR Working Group, May 2018   Submitting organisations The Global Detention Project (GDP) is an independent research centre based in Geneva, which investigates the use of detention as a response to international migration. Its objectives […]

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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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