In the Service of Deportation: The Development of Detention and Other Forms of Movement Restrictions in the Austrian Asylum System from 1990 to 2020

This article looks into the development of pre-removal detention and other forms of movement restrictions to facilitate deportation in the context of the Austrian asylum system since the 1990s. It found that while pre-removal detention was the primary instrument used to increase the deportability of rejected asylum seekers between 1990-2005, a more diversified and stratified approach emerged after 2005. The new approach prioritized a system of obligations and restrictions over detention, however, it kept detention as an option for authorities to turn to when less invasive measures failed. After some time, the new system got expanded to asylum seekers whose asylum cases were still pending. Thus, today, a large proportion of asylum seekers whose case has been rejected or who are still awaiting decision face detention or the threat thereof.