The time politics of migrant deportability: an intersectional analysis of deportation policy for non-citizen children in Belgium and the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

This article examines the use of time as a technology of migration control for the deportation of non-citizen children in Belgium and the Netherlands. The scarce literature on the ‘time politics’ of migration enforcement shows that states are under increasing pressure to speed up deportations, especially for non-citizens convicted of criminal offences. However, as immigration is increasingly linked to social, political and economic categories of personhood, making different immigrant groups subject to the logic of deportation in very specific ways, it is important to inquire separately how the positioning of children affects the policy measures taken towards them. This article is therefore based on an intersectional analysis of parliamentary inquiries, policy guidelines and 25 interviews with immigration officers. It shows that the pace of children's deportation procedures is highly asymmetrical and that it is premised on the intersectional markers of difference that are invoked in these policies, debates and implementation efforts. The intersections of age and parenthood, imbued with gender norms, racialisation and class, impact the sense of urgency or meticulousness devoted to individual cases and in turn the concrete measures taken to justify minors' deportation.

KEYWORDS:

• Time
• deportability
• intersectionality
• unaccompanied minors
• undocumented families

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Petra Meier, Antje Ellermann, Florian Trauner, Gert Verschraegen and Sybille Münch for their insightful feedback on earlier versions of this article, as well as two anonymous reviewers and JEMS editors for their detailed and challenging comments and questions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 I use the term ‘illegalised non-citizens’ to highlight the institutional and political processes that render certain individuals ‘illegal’.

2 Under this term, I include all institutional efforts to return illegalised non-citizens to their countries of origin, either via AVR or deportation. When appropriate, I make distinctions between the two in the remainder of the article.

3 See Aliens Act 2000 Art. 59

4 Next to EU-wide readmission agreements being negotiated, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg cooperate on national return and readmission negotiations and agreements with third countries.

5 Interview policy advisor (NL), 19-06-2020; Interview policy advisor (BE), 14-05-2020.

6 Kamerstukken II 2019–2020, 19637 nr. 2540.

7 Interview immigration officer (NL), 09-09-2020a.

8 Kamerstukken II 2015-2016, 19637 nr. 2086.

9 Interview immigration officer (NL), 01-09-2020.

10 Interview immigration officer (NL), 09-09-2020b.

11 Kamerstukken II 2015–2016, 19637 nr. 2168.

12 Kamerstukken II 2010–2011, 19637 nr. 1474 and 1207; Wet tot wijziging van de wet van 15 december 1980 (24-02-2017). Interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020; interview policy advisor (BE), 28-05-2020. See also Aliens Degree 2000 Art. 3.86 (NL).

13 Kamerstukken II 2005–2006, 29344 nr. 48; ‘Wetsvoorstel tot wijziging van de wet van 15 december 1980’ (06-09-2011); interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020; interview policy (BE), 28-05-2020.

14 Kamerstukken II 2010–2011, 19637 nr. 1474.

15 Kamerstukken II 1999–2000, 27062 nr. 2; Interview legal guardian (NL), 02-11-2020.

16 Interview policy advisor (BE), 11-05-2020.

17 Kamerstukken II 2011–2012, 27062 nr. 75.

18 Interview AVR counsellor (BE), 25-05-2020; Interview immigration officer (BE), 10-06-2020, Interview AVR counsellor (NL), 20-05-2020. See also the report ‘Jong en Illegaal in Nederland’ (2010).

19 Interview legal guardian (BE), 28-08-2020; interview legal guardian (NL), 02-11-2020.

20 Kamerstukken II 2011–2012, 27062 nr. 75; interview policy advisor (NL), 19-05-2020.

21 Kamerstukken II 2010–2011, 19637 nr. 1474.

22 Interview legal guardian (BE), 28-08-2020.

23 Interview policy advisor (BE), 10-06-2020.

24 Kamerstukken II 1999–2000, 27062 nr. 2.

25 Kamerstukken II 1999–2000, 27062 nr. 12.

26 Article 118 Koninklijk Besluit bij de Vreemdelingenwet.

27 Interview policy advisor (BE), 10-06-2020.

28 Interview policy advisor (NL), 19-06-2020.

29 Interview legal guardian (BE), 29-09-2020; Interviews immigration officers (BE), 28-10-2020 and 30-10-2020.

30 Interview policy advisor (NL), 19-06-2020.

31 Interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020.

32 The practice of assessing whether adequate care and reception is availably only after issuing a return order was recently condemned by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-441/19 TQ v. Staatssecretatis van Justitie en Veiligheid.

33 Interview legal guardian (NL), 02-11-2020; interview attorneys (NL) 01-05-2020 and 05-05-2020.

34 See also Kamerstukken II 2004–2005, 27062 nr. 44.

35 Kamerstukken II 2006–2007, 27062 nr. 57.

36 Interview immigration officer (NL), 24-08-2020.

37 Interview policy advisor (NL), 25-06-2020; interview policy advisor (BE), 11-05-2020.

38 Interview immigration officer (NL), 28-08-2020.

39 See COM(2017) 1600 (annex).

40 Interview AVR counsellor (BE), 01-04-2020a.

41 Interview AVR counsellor (BE), 01-04-2020b.

42 Interview AVR counsellors (BE), 10-07-2020 and 01-04-2020b.

43 Interview immigration officers (BE), 29-10-2020 and 30-10-2020.

44 Interview immigration officers (BE), 29-10-2020 and 30-10-2020; interview policy advisor (BE), 11-05-2020.

45 See also Kamerstukken II 2010-2011 27062 nr. 70.

46 Ron Meerhof ‘Ongebruikt opvanghuis in Angola kost Nederland een miljoen’, Volkskrant 26-03-2012.

47 Interview legal guardian (NL), 02-11-2020.

48 Interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020.

49 Kamerstukken II 2006–2007, 29344 nr. 61.

50 Interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020; Kamerstukken II 2013–2014, 19637 nr. 1827; Aanhangsel van de Handelingen II 2015–2016, nr. 2284.

51 See the Inspectorate of Justice and Security Report ‘Het vertrekproces van de Armeense kinderen', p.28. See for a critique Kinderombudsman letter no. 2018.19577 to the head of DT&V concerning ‘Investigation on decision-making on separate removals’ for not taking children's best interests into account.

52 Kamerstukken II 2013–2014, 19637 nr. 1896.

53 Interview policy advisor (NL), 18-05-2020.

54 Interview immigration officers (NL), 24-08-2020 and 28-08-2020.

Additional information

Funding

The research for this article was funded by the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO) under grant number G072317N.