Archives > Volume 21 (2024) > Issue 2 > Item 12
DOI: 10.55521/10-021-212
Peterie, M. (Ed.). (2024). Immigration detention and social harm: The collateral impacts of migrant incarceration. Routledge.
Reviewed by LeAnn Howell, EdD, MSSW, LSW, Brescia University
International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics • Volume 21(2), Copyright 2024 by IFSW
This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the authors and advance notification of IFSW.
Immigration Detention and Social Harm: The Collateral Impacts of Migrant Incarceration is a compilation of works dedicated to exploring the physical, emotional, and economic harm brought about by the incarceration/detention of migrants, the separation of families, the isolation of individuals, and the effects on those “working” within the system. The work is edited by Michelle Peterie, an accomplished researcher on the consequences of social policy on individuals and collective societies as a whole. Peterie is a Research Fellow in Sociology at the Sydney Center for Healthy Societies and School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney.
This collection offers comprehensive insights from esteemed contributors in the world of migrant incarceration/detention within the contexts of personal experiences, geographies, social positioning, gender, economics, and policy. Multiple perspectives are offered to include the impacts of migrant detention in terms of human costs and societal consequences, as well as perspectives from the persons detained, their families, communities, and those working within the system. The book culminates not only with persuasive evidence supporting the need to end migrant incarceration, but with emphasis of the lasting effects of the broad social harm caused by systemic negligence through discrimination, oppression, and lack of transparency and access to information for those involved in migrant detainment.
These compiled works shed light on the ways in which harm is intensified for individuals whose circumstance/identities include the intersectionality of economic class, gender, race, ethnicity, spirituality, sexual identity, and age. Highlighting these intersectionalities offers the reader a better understanding of the complexities presented and the effects realized at every level of intervention. Sensitive topics are covered and may be best suited for a socially informed, mature audience. These sensitivities are most evident when considering the emotional, physical and spiritual impacts of parental incarceration on children, as well as experiences specifically encountered by women. The reader is given qualitative and quantitative insight into the lasting impacts on societal structure and disparities present in systems ranging from policy and economics to family cohesiveness and community health.
Major highlights are the qualitative accounts of individuals and organizations directly involved, which demonstrate the current negative impact of political discourse on society. The need for placing human experience as priority in decision-making and policy reformation is evident. The diversity of settings, populations, and areas of focus among the included works adds to the breadth of knowledge and information contained, which allows the reader to better understand the effects of overlapping systems of discrimination. This compilation is highly recommended reading for anyone with interest in immigration reform, immigration law, prison reform, or human rights in general. With each section made up of published research from a diverse group of scholars, perspectives, and contexts, it is ideal for assigned readings in classes such as criminal justice, diversity, human rights, social welfare policy, gender studies and more.
If any weakness is present in this compilation, it would be the need for recommendations and strategies for policy reform, or the inclusion of case studies where specific interventions were evaluated showing positive outcomes or highlighting the need for further research in precise, definable areas.