A `Reserve Army of Delinquents: The Criminalization and Economic Punishment of Immigrants in Spain

This article explores the role of `irregular' immigrants in the political economy of Spain, their related criminalization and the forms of punishment that attach to their illegal status. Based on secondary data, government documents and field research, I argue that Spanish immigration laws prim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Punishment & society 2003-10, Vol.5 (4), p.399-413
Main Author: Calavita, Kitty
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Criminal justice
Criminalization
Criminology
Europe
Illegal immigrants
International migration
Labour market
Labour migration
Marginalization
Migration
Political economy
Punishment
Social control
Social exclusion
Spain
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Summary:This article explores the role of `irregular' immigrants in the political economy of Spain, their related criminalization and the forms of punishment that attach to their illegal status. Based on secondary data, government documents and field research, I argue that Spanish immigration laws primarily focus on defining levels of social and economic inclusion/exclusion, and that they have the consequence of marginalizing immigrants and consigning them to the extensive underground economy, as a kind of economic sanction for their illegal status. Finally, it is this punishment and the economic marginalization it helps constitute that shore up the `flexibility' that immigrants provide the post-Fordist economy and for which they are reluctantly tolerated.
ISSN:1462-4745
1741-3095
DOI:10.1177/14624745030054002