Victimmigration and the role of bystanders: mirrors to imagine the other and identify dehumanizing policies

Resumen

With a strong connection with the notion of outsiders, developed in the classical work of US sociologist Howard Becker (1963), crimmigration studies invite us to explore the link between immigration, criminal policies, and law. In this contribution, we rethink the process of merging of victim, criminal and migration policies. The point of departure will be a critical standpoint on the concepts of victim, victimhood and bystanders. We then review the current trend towards criminalization of solidarity and provide three recent examples in Europe on the role of the implicated bystanders. By this term we mean agents who somehow act or should act in this situation. Finally, given that borders and victimhood are notions where identity dynamics are put into play, we end with thoughts on the role of policymakers, researchers and social media in times of what can only be called “post-truth society” and depredatory forms of global political economy.