Governing Irregular Migration

This thorough analysis of immigration governance in Spain explores the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion at play at one of Europe’s southern borders.

This thorough analysis of immigration governance in Spain explores the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion at play at one of Europe’s southern borders.

David Moffette is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa.

William Walters, professor, Department of Political Science and Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University:
Scholars of migration and border governance have not always appreciated the significance of the Spanish case. Exceptional in its empirical acuity, conceptual richness, and political insight, Governing Irregular Migration corrects this oversight. It does not just add one more case to the debate; it shows convincingly that migration governance looks quite different when viewed through a Spanish lens.

Patricia Landolt, associate professor and chair, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough:
Governing Irregular Migration makes an exciting and original contribution to how we conceptualize, and contend with, the messiness of migration governance in a global, multiscalar world. The book puts socio-legal studies and migration research into elegant conversation using the concepts of probation, discretion, and borderwork to show how Spain turned irregular migration into a policy problem in need of management.

José Ángel Brandariz, associate professor, Faculty of Law, University of A Coruña, Spain:
David Moffette has written a compelling analysis of the processes aimed at governing migration and human mobility. His book’s salience and academic impact go far beyond the geographical scope of his study. Governing Irregular Migration makes a crucial contribution to the socio-legal analyses of migration governance and to related criminological, sociological, and legal debates.

Luin Goldring, professor, Department of Sociology, York University:
This book is an intellectual tour de force that will become a must-read for critical border and migration scholars. Moffette combines ethnography, archival research, and interviews with officials to analyze the multi-actor and multiscalar governing of irregular migration in Spain. His analysis vividly captures how irregular migrants are not only criminalized but also selectively and contingently incorporated through complex logics and bordering practices that occur in various sites and timelines.