Solidarity under siege: The crimmigration of activism(s) and protest against border control in Spain
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370819882908 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Author | Ana López-Sala,Iker Barbero |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819882908
European Journal of Criminology
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370819882908
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Solidarity under siege:
The crimmigration of
activism(s) and protest
against border control
in Spain
Ana López-Sala
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
Iker Barbero
University of the Basque Country, Spain
Abstract
Over the past two decades, the creation of the European border regime has increasingly sparked
acts of protest and resistance by immigrants and led to the creation of initiatives to defend immigrant
rights. This activism has provoked many European states to formalize what is known in the literature
as ‘crimes of solidarity’ in their legal systems. Taking the Spanish case as an example, the objective of
this article is to analyse the ‘crimmigration’ of protest and activism defending the rights of irregular
immigrants at Europe’s southern border. This analysis describes the development and implementation
of the repressive tactics employed by the state against activists, including forms of police control
of protests, informal and formal dissuasion techniques, and the use of administrative and criminal
sanctions. This work provides valuable insight into the practical impact of these crimmigration
processes, particularly how they have affected activists, social organizations and immigrants, as well
as how they have extended beyond the territory of the state (externalizing punishment).
Keywords
Crimmigration, activisms, irregular immigration, migration control, Spain
Introduction
On 7 January 2017, members of the Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak organization (‘Welcome,
refugees’ in Basque) met Mikel Zuluaga and Begoña Huarte at the airport in Bilbao with
Corresponding author:
Iker Barbero, Department of Administrative Law, Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law, Faculty of
Economic Sciences, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), Bilbao 48015, Spain.
Email: iker.barbero@ehu.eus
882908EUC0010.1177/1477370819882908European Journal of CriminologyLópez-Sala and Barbero
research-article2019
Article
2021, Vol. 18(5) 678–694
banners reading ‘Solidarity is not a crime. I would do it too’. These Basque activists were
arrested in Igumenitsa (Greece) for trying to transport eight refugees to the Basque
Country in northern Spain in a camper. Ever since they have been awaiting trial, accused
of aiding irregular immigration. This is not an isolated case; more and more European
citizens (Cedric Herrou, Pierre Alain Mannoni, Lisbeth Zornig, Lise Ramslog, Pia Klemp
and Claire Marsol, to mention a few) are facing administrative sanctions or criminal
prosecution for their ongoing commitment to human rights activism, and others face
similar consequences simply for carrying out a specific act of solidarity (Isin, 2009).
Over the past two decades the creation of the European border regime has led to acts
of protest and resistance by immigrants (Nyers and Rygiel, 2012) and also to an increas-
ing number of initiatives to defend immigrant rights. This activism, which employs vari-
ous tactics, such as recording violence against migrants at the borders, organizing
information campaigns or filing lawsuits, has provoked many European states to formal-
ize what are known in the literature as ‘crimes of solidarity’ in their legal systems (Fekete,
2009; Fekete et al., 2017).
Our objective is to provide a socio-legal analysis of the formal and informal criminali-
zation of pro-immigrant activism being carried out at Europe’s southern border, specifi-
cally in Spain. From the middle of the past decade, experts in fields such as migration
studies, critical criminal studies or socio-legal studies have frequently discussed the
growing criminalization of irregular immigration in North America, Europe and
Australia. Under the generic heading ‘a criminology of mobility’ (Aas and Bosworth,
2013; Bosworth and Guild, 2008), authors from different disciplines have explored the
criminal control and exclusion mechanisms used against irregular immigrants in physi-
cal and symbolic settings, such as the border or immigrant detention centres (Gerard and
Pickering, 2013). The crimmigration approach (Chacón, 2012; Stumpf, 2006; Van der
Woude et al., 2017) views the surge in crimmigration as a reflection of a culture of con-
trol and repression that permeates policies, legal systems, public discourses and social
practices. In line with arguments found in the literature, we believe crimmigration
includes legal and socio-political aspects (Van der Woude et al., 2014; Wonders, 2017).
However, most of this literature has centred on the criminalization of immigrants and the
expansion of categories of outsiders, while overlooking that this process has also affected
various categories of nationals, particularly activists defending migrant rights who have
been found guilty of what has been called ‘intolerable solidarity’ (Fekete, 2009). Our
work is an attempt to provide a more complete understanding of this strategy by examin-
ing cases of activists who monitor European borders. Our analysis emphasizes that the
growing legal, bureaucratic and police repression of solidarity with immigrants reveals a
new approach to irregular immigration and migration control tactics. Therefore, this arti-
cle seeks to fill a gap in the literature by analysing the intersections between crimmigra-
tion and activism, focusing on the repression of migrant rights activists, particularly
those monitoring border and internal control sites.
The Spanish case is a good example of broader trends in Europe and beyond, but it also
presents some peculiarities that distinguish it from other European cases. First of all,
Spain is located on the periphery of the Schengen Area and has become a consolidated
destination for unauthorized immigration through maritime corridors. Moreover, the
restriction of irregular flows and border control have become central to its migration
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López-Sala and Barbero
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