‘Get me out of here’: Bail hearings of people indefinitely detained for immigration purposes (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate) |
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| Authors: | Caroline White |
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| Institution: | Retired social anthropologist, formerly of the universities of Griffith, Cape Town and the Western Cape, and of the Centre for Policy Studies in Johannesburg. She has published a book on Italian local politics, articles on the anthropology of the workplace and numerous articles and reports on applied anthropology and policy. She currently lives in London and works as a university conflict mediator and volunteer for Detention Action, also chairing its management committee. Her email is caroline@re‐connect.co.uk |
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| Abstract: | This article is based on observation of 66 applications for bail brought by men detained indefinitely for immigration purposes. It argues that although the research is incomplete – the full stories of the applicants could not be known, neither the Home Office Presenting Officers nor the Immigration Judges could be ‘shadowed’ or even interviewed, court records are not public – there is value in doing ‘observation’ without ‘participation’ of institutions which act in the name of the public. This research shows that the outcomes of bail applications are not, as the public might imagine, always fair and unequivocal. All too often, they look like ‘the luck of the draw’, bringing the institution and its presiding officers into disrepute. The article illustrates this point using ‘dialogues’ from two bail hearings where the same applicant appeared before two different judges, with very different outcomes. |
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