Undesirable but Unremovable Migrants

War Criminals, Terrorists and Foreign Offenders in Limbo
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-13189-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 310 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Law and Migration

Across the globe, tens of thousands of alleged ‘criminal’ migrants find themselves trapped in limbo. They are unwanted in the countries hosting them but cannot be deported because they are stateless, because human rights law or lack of political will prevents it, or because they themselves do not cooperate. These individuals – referred to as Undesirable But Unremovable migrants (UBUs) – include former World War II concentration camp guards, minor drug traffickers, rapists, acquitted genocidaires, and children of alleged terrorists. Their continued presence in host countries often sparks intense political debate, complex legal proceedings, and public controversy. In some cases, they are passed back and forth between multiple countries.

Taking a historical and global perspective, this book traces the emergence of UBUs, shows how their numbers have increased dramatically over time, and reveals the persistent inability of states to develop coherent policy responses. This failure has led to politically charged environments in host countries and profound challenges for the migrants themselves.

The book benefits anyone engaged in the study, development, or implementation of governmental policies concerning migrants accused of being involved in crime.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wijk, Joris van

Bolhuis, Maarten

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kriminalsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Staats- und Verfassungsrecht Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Kriminologie, Strafverfolgung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction  Part I. The world’s first Undesirable But Unremovable migrants  1. Expulsion and asylum, from meerkats to the Middle Ages  2. Rise of the nation-state  3. Faced with undeportable anarchists, communists and criminals  4. Wartime emergency laws and the internment of ‘enemy aliens’  5. Taking stock of Part I  Part II. UBUs in a globalizing world  6. Changing political landscapes: An American hijacker in a French town  7. Crimmigration, securitisation and human rights protection: A Cuban petty criminal in a Florida cell  8. Post-9/11: A Tunisian man dying in a Kazakh town  9. ‘All because of human rights:’ A Jamaican killer in a London apartment  10. An issue of the Global North?  11. Groups in limbo  12. Taking stock of Part II  Part III. No safe haven  13. Early exceptions to asylum  14. No safe haven for Nazi war criminals and collaborators  15. The expansion of No Safe Haven policies  16. ICCTs and UBUs  17. Taking stock of Part III  Part IV. Dealing with the matter  18. Send them ‘home’: Country of origin solutions  19. Export the problem: Third-country involvement  20. Tolerate, detain or deny: Domestic responses  21. Taking stock of Part IV  Conclusion  Epilogue. The saga continues

Über Autor(innen)

Joris van Wijk is Professor of Criminology of Conflict-related Crimes and Post-Conflict Justice at the Faculty of Law at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Maarten Bolhuis is Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands