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The punitive meanings of detention and deportation for crimmigration agents

Byron is conducting his doctoral research at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and University Hamburg, Germany. He holds a MA in Criminology from the University of Maryland-College Park, US, which he pursued as a Fulbright Fellow. He also holds a PG Dip in Procedural Law from UASB, and a BA in Law from PUCE, both in Ecuador.

The criminalization of immigration has become a worrisome phenomenon in the Western industrialized countries. Often referred to as crimmigration law, this phenomenon is said to be blurring the philosophical boundaries that delimit crime control mechanisms from those of immigration enforcement, making them mere instruments to be used by state officials to selectively remove immigrants. This confluence between immigration enforcement and criminal justice has led to the convergence of the State’s administrative and judicial spheres of decision-making, leading to the emergence of what are referred to as crimmigration communities. This decision-making domain is composed of a number of diverse actors, including judges, prosecutors, administrative officials, police officers, attorneys, and other staff members. In this regard, one of the aspects that still requires more in depth examination is the extent to which these actors signify detention and deportation as punitive measures, and how they interpret them within the context of their constitutional and legal duties. To achieve that purpose, Byron’s project entails in its core part an ethnographic study of the courts and agencies that deal with crimmigration proceedings, as well as interviews with their members, and content analysis of their decisions. Broadly speaking, the main objective of this study is to elucidate the meanings given to immigration enforcement by crimmigration actors in Europe.

Publications

• Villagómez, B.E. (2010). Resocialización imposible. Resistencia. UASB. , pp. 42-45.
• Villagómez, B.E. (2010). Análisis crítico de la suspensión condicional del proceso penal. Novedades Jurídicas. Ediciones Legales, pp. 34-41.