The Sonics of Crimmigration in Australia*: Wall of Noise and Quiet Manoeuvring

Abstract

Further exploring moral panic, Cohen points out that claims-making can range from loud to quiet. That phenomenon is particularly evident within the merging of crime and immigration control (or crimmigration). This project focuses on Australia, where claims-making on asylum seekers contains both loud panic as well as quiet manoeuvring by the state, including such tactics as stonewalling, privatization and offshore detention. In pursuit of a nuanced interpretation of crimmigration, the analysis sorts out key legal and human rights alongside a recent High Court ruling on the processing of asylum seekers.