Migration Control and Immigrant Detention in Poland Since 2015: Gender-Blind National Policy Practice?
摘要
This chapter analyzes immigrant detention in Poland from a feminist perspective, focusing on gender dimensions in law and practice. It addresses two key questions: (1) whether gender aspects are present in the general rules governing the detention of foreigners, and (2) how these aspects have influenced detention or release decisions since 2015. The analysis draws on Polish legal provisions, reports on legal mobilization around immigration detention, and outcomes of an empirical study of 665 court decisions issued in 2019 and 2021. Findings indicate that Polish migration policy rarely engages with gender as a social category. While gender is noted in legal texts and statistics, it is typically treated as a biological identifier, rather than a lens for legal protection or vulnerability assessment. Issues indirectly linked to gender—such as human rights and child protection—are more commonly discussed. The administrative detention system appears both gender-blind and gender-neutral, depending on the context and administrative procedures involved. Humanitarian actors and human rights advocates are the main voices highlighting the specific vulnerabilities of migrants, including those linked to gender. Nationality and the border section crossed often emerge as factors in differential treatment, intersecting with gender in practice, even if not explicitly recognized in policy.