1st Edition

Undesirable but Unremovable Migrants War Criminals, Terrorists and Foreign Offenders in Limbo

By Joris Van Wijk, Maarten Bolhuis Copyright 2026
306 Pages
by Routledge

306 Pages
by Routledge

Across the globe, tens of thousands of alleged ‘criminal’ migrants find themselves trapped in limbo. They are unwanted in the countries hosting them but cannot be deported because they are stateless, because human rights law or lack of political will prevents it, or because they themselves do not cooperate. These individuals – referred to as undesirable but unremovable migrants (UBUs) – include... Read more

Introduction   Part I. The world’s first Undesirable But Unremovable migrants   1. Expulsion and asylum, from meerkats to the Middle Ages   2. Rise of the nation-state   3. Faced with undeportable anarchists, communists and criminals   4. Wartime emergency laws and the internment of ‘enemy aliens’   5. Taking stock of Part I   Part II. UBUs in a globalizing world   6. Changing political landscapes: An American hijacker in a French town   7. Crimmigration, securitisation and human rights protection: A Cuban petty criminal in a Florida cell   8. Post-9/11: A Tunisian man dying in a Kazakh town   9. ‘All because of human rights:’ A Jamaican killer in a London apartment   10. An issue of the Global North?   11. Groups in limbo   12. Taking stock of Part II  Part III. No safe haven   13. Early exceptions to asylum   14. No safe haven for Nazi war criminals and collaborators   15. The expansion of No Safe Haven policies   16. ICCTs and UBUs   17. Taking stock of Part III  Part IV. Dealing with the matter   18. Send them ‘home’: Country of origin solutions   19. Export the problem: Third-country involvement   20. Tolerate, detain or deny: Domestic responses   21. Taking stock of Part IV   Conclusion   Epilogue. The saga continues

Biography

Joris van Wijk is Professor of Criminology of Conflict-Related Crimes and Post-Conflict Justice at the Faculty of Law at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Maarten Bolhuis is Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

"This new volume makes a definitive contribution to a growing body of research on the situation and paradox of so-called 'undesirable but unreturnable' migrants, including those suspected of war crimes and terrorism. The book's scope is impressive, interrogating the topic from diverse historical, policy and social science perspectives - and it helpfully brings into play a vivid and colourful range of case studies and examples.” Professor David Cantor, PhD, Director of the Refugee Law Initiative

 

"Undesirable but Unremovable Migrants is an ambitious and insightful examination of one of the most persistent blind spots in migration governance. This excellent book is indispensable reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand the limits of deportation, the politics of exclusion, and the human consequences of legal limbo in a globalized world." Professor Elies van Sliedregt, Tilburg Law School