abstract: The asylum seeking process in the United States is arbitrary in nature, many aspects of which have been well documented. The legal process rests the burden of proof upon the asylum seeker to demonstrate he or she is truly fleeing persecution to a legal system where asylum seekers are not eligible for free representation. This contributes to a lower rate of success and an uncertain future, due to the limited or no access to employment, education, and health benefits, within the country in which they seek asylum. However, the academic literature pertaining to the repatriation process of the failed asylum seeker in the United States remains relatively unexplored. Consequently, the true failure rate remains unknown. This paper contends that genuine asylum seekers may fall through the cracks, unable to show evidence of their persecution. Thus, repatriations result in a dual victimization of the failed asylum seeker resulting in situations where a genuine case can be exposed to the very same dangers he or she fled in the first place. This is a grave violation of their human rights and the principle of Non-refoulement. Therefore, this paper argues the theory of the Marginalized Other in Human Rights Law (Simmons 2011) can be extended to the repatriations process of failed asylum seekers in the United States. Using secondary data and reports this thesis breaks down the repatriations process into three components in order to demonstrate how the failed asylum seeker is treated as a Marginalized Other during each point of contact. By addressing the victimization that occurs during the repatriations process this paper concludes the threat posed to the human rights of failed asylum seekers can be minimized. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Justice and Human Rights 2016

The refugee crisis is currently a major world event. However, not much is known about the technology adoption and digital skills of those fleeing these conflicts and seeking asylum in foreign countries. To study this, a qualitative study was conducted in Umeå, Sweden. Data was collected through interviews, written responses and observations. The results show that refugees and asylum seekers have positive attitude towards digital technology adoption. However, they perceived digital technology primarily as tools to fulfil their recreational needs. A strategic use of technology for improving productivity was not evident. While formal internet skills were generally common among every user, most interviewees were not able to carry out more complex tasks, such as finding facts online, as they found it particularly challenging to select appropriate search systems and to construct meaningful queries. This research wants to contribute to the literature in IT and social inclusion. The findings reported here suggest that digital divide can be conceptualized as digital illiteracy because of lacking awareness over data management and information processing capabilities. Moreover, identifying the digital practices of these minority groups could be extremely meaningful for the digital inclusion strategy efforts of Sweden and for a better design of public services.

The Swedish debate surrounding the Swedish and European welcoming of refugees has during the last couple of years engaged actors from all spheres of society. One of the prominent actors in this debate has been archbishop Antje Jackelén who has contributed with articles on the issue together with members of the church board as well as the other bishops in the Church of Sweden. These articles have been published on the debate pages of four major newspapers; Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Expressen and Aftonbladet. The aim of this research is to study the way leaders in the Church of Sweden frame the welcoming of refugees and asylum seekers in these newspapers between 2014-2016. By using a qualitative frame analysis inspired by a theory of framing used in social movement research (Benford & Snow, 2000) the study will focus primarily on motivational framing, i.e. the way in which authors set out to inspire their audience to take action in a certain issue. In three of the articles collective action frames are identified, in which collective identities are constructed and where the writers stress the importance for people to come together and act towards a more humane way of handling the refugee situation. Another aim of the essay is to study the way in which the Church of Sweden is presented as an actor within the frames used in the articles. The analysis shows how the church is presented as an experienced organisation, driven by the Christian faith to take action in the face of suffering. Finally, the result is analysed through the mediatisation of religion theory, using the concept of three media functions; conduit, environment and language (Hjarvard, 2016). The analysis shows how the newspapers, by publishing the articles, can be interpreted to function as both conduits and environments for the religious information and messages present in the texts. Concerning the third function, media as language, the debate articles are interpreted as living up to the criteria of news value despite the use of religious imagery and language. However, the method and empirical material of this study did not allow for any conclusions regarding how the logic of debate articles have been affecting the way in which leaders in the Church of Sweden debate the welcoming of refugees.

This thesis assesses the unintended consequences of the European Union’ asylum regime. The structure of the asylum regime arguably burdens the Member States along the external border with responsibility of humanitarian migrants seeking international protection more than Member States to the north. As a result, the Member States on the external border pursue security measures of migration control to deter migration from their borderlands, consequently creating human insecurity. The question this thesis seeks to answer is as follows: How has the EU’s asylum regime resulted in unintended consequences of human insecurity and ultimately become a catalyst for human rights infringements? By reviewing the dimensions of insecurity, migrant immobility and rightslessness, I answer this question by arguing that migrant insecurity is a common phenomenon within the EU asylum regime as there is a tendency to pursue security measures that prevent migrants from obtaining regularized status within his or her chosen Member State. In a time when the nexus between migration and security is a prominent feature in decision-making by state actors, reviewing measures of migration control is important to see the creation of insecurity. The thesis reviews the relevant concepts of the field, the make up of the asylum regime and how it consequently creates instances of insecurity and finally reviews Spain as a case study of Member States along the external border. / Graduate

Asylum seekers are a socially excluded migrant population, presenting specific healthcare needs, which are often not acknowledged, nor properly addressed by national and European laws. Hailing from areas with poor sanitary attention, exposed to violence during the journey, they arrive to Italy with a high health vulnerability. The aim of this thesis is to find the discrepancies between the legislation providing healthcare access to the asylum seekers, in compliance with the fundamental human rights, and the practical healthcare responses in the Italian context of the North African Emergency (2011-2013), relying on a systematic literature review. The emergency-driven responses to the asylum inflow resulted in a heterogeneous reception and healthcare assistance, as the Italian asylum legislation focuses more on asylum procedures than healthcare, which remains regionally fragmented too. Asylum seekers faced discrimination and barriers in accessing healthcare, mainly due to information, linguistic and bureaucratic difficulties. Therefore, NGOs and associations intervened locally to fill the gap left by the institutional response, with a better focus on the social determinants of health and the importance of social integration as well. After 2013, better reception conditions were formulated and the legislation revised. However, the difference between legislation and practice on the asylum seekers healthcare access constitutes a human rights violation still present nowadays. Clearer approaches should be developed to address the issue uniformly.

The article examines how the German city of Leipzig governs the housing of asylum seekers. Leipzig was a frontrunner in organizing the decentralized accommodation of asylum seekers when adopting its accommodation concept in 2012. This concept aimed at integrating asylum-seeking persons in the regular housing market at an early stage of arrival. However, since then, the city of Leipzig faces more and more challenges in implementing the concept. This is particularly due to the increasingly tight situation on the housing market while the number of people seeking protection increased and partly due to discriminating and xenophobic attitudes on the side of house owners and managers. Therefore, we argue that the so-called refugee crisis of 2015–2016 has to be seen in close interaction with a growing general housing shortage in Leipzig like in many other large European cities. Furthermore, we understand the municipal governing of housing as a contested field regarding its entanglement of diverse federal levels and policy scales, the diversity of stakeholders involved, and its dynamic change over the last years. We analyze this contested field set against the current context of arrival and dynamic urban growth on a local level. Based on empirical qualitative research that was conducted by us in 2016, Leipzig’s local specifics will be investigated under the umbrella of our conceptual framework of Governance of Arrival. The issues of a strained housing market and the integration of asylum seekers in it do not apply only to Leipzig, but shed light on similar developments in other European Cities.

Sweden, like Europe, has had an increased influx of people seeking asylum in recent years, instigating restrictive measures within the Swedish asylum regime. Simultaneously as the sustainability of settlement and housing policies for people seeking asylum has been the subject of large political debate, restrictive methods such as a minimum rights approach has been adopted, putting the Swedish asylum regime at the edge of the European Convention. In 2019, 25 years after its implementation, Sweden’s refugee reception system was amended. As of then, people seeking asylum who choose their own housing (EBO) in certain municipalities over assigned housing in accommodation facilities (ABO) are no longer entitled to state subsidies. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s discourse theory and Carol Bacchi’s policy analysis, What’s the Problem Represented to be, this thesis examines how the political discourse on refugee reception and EBO settlement has changed from the implementation of the LMA Act in 1994 to its amendment in 2019 by observing how the motifs of the implementation and amendment have been expressed, what underlying presumptions or assumptions such expressions hold, and what effects such discourse has. The study shows a discursive shift represented in the political discourse, portraying EBO settlement as contributing to societal degradation and in need of restrictions through reprisals. The main findings show that the discourse constructs an imagery of people seeking asylum as responsible for, and a threat to, Swedish welfare and societal structure. Moreover, the analysis displays a conceptualization of social sustainability as a matter of meeting the interest of the state, rather than the needs of the individual. In sum the study contributes in part to a deeper understanding of how political discourses shape the knowledge and conceptualization of people seeking asylum, the restrictive trajectory of Swedish asylum policy, and highlights the consequences of restrictive state bureaucracies for people seeking protection within Swedish borders.

Focused on procedural safeguards for asylum seekers contained within Dublin Regulation III (Articles 4 and 5), this thesis has the aim of understanding why Italian administrations are still not compliant with these rights, which are nevertheless guaranteed in directly applicable and immediately enforceable EU legislation. This study turns its attention to the enforcement obstacles, and explores the factors that might impede compliance with the law, some of which appeared less self-evident than others. Before proceeding to a technical on-the-ground analysis of the problem informed by expert interviews, the previously assumed argument of 'overburdened peripheral state' is first taken off the debate, since, as the thesis explains, due to recent policies, Italy has not been burdened during the last two years and yet has still been demonstrating lack of compliance. The results point to two clear distinct factors: a poor administration lacking staff, training and autonomy, as well as a lack of control and sanction from EU and National entities, and lack of litigation from below. Further results hinting at the potential existence of political interference in administrations' non-application of these articles have also been highlighted but not confirmed as those are in need of more thorough research....

With over 19,200 asylum seekers living on its premises, the Moria refugee camp is operating way over its capacity of 3000 residents. Due to the uncontrolled, rapid growth of the camp, the existing sanitation infrastructure has fallen into disrepair under excessive usage. While the old toilets and showers are breaking down and lacking maintenance, creating new facilities has been slow, resulting in hundreds of people sharing one latrine. In this thesis, I analyze whether Moria‟s sanitation services meet the Sphere minimum standards and propose improvements based on the sustainable settlements framework. I argue that Moria is midst a protracted crisis. This means that in addition to meeting the minimum standards, the camp needs sustainable settlement planning for the many years it still has ahead of it. As a method, I use integrative literature review. The thesis finds that Moria cannot meet any of the Sphere standards as people live in a degrading, dangerous and unhealthy environment. Women and disabled people face additional challenges when using the few latrines, which are far away and have long queues. There is a risk of SGBV for vulnerable groups. Wastewater from Moria used to pollute a local stream until the sewage system was connected to a waste-processing plant in 2019, which is the only positive aspect that was found in the literature. However, broken pipes still create significant problems inside the camp. Seeing that waste is a problem on the tightly-packed camp, it is important that when new toilets are built they process excreta safely while saving space. I have introduced sustainable sanitation solutions that turn excreta into soil improver and energy. These toilets have long life-spans and are optimized to save space. They solve the problem of pollution and ideally, enhance the independence of their users, as excreta is turned into safe-to-handle products. To ensure that the users accept the new technologies, their engagement in the planning of the services is essential.

The resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany since reunification in 1990 has been challenged by two peaks in asylum seeker applications in 1992 and again in 2016. From the 1992 peak, which was fueled by asylum seekers fleeing the former Yugoslavia, extensive research has already been conducted over the past thirty years. These studies have demonstrated the actual outcomes of these primarily Yugoslavian asylum seekers and refugees with these findings indicating legal and economic uncertainty having a detrimental effect even years after resettlement. Using Germany as a case study, this analysis aims to survey the available information in the more recent example of asylum seekers arriving in Germany from 2014 onwards primarily from the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Ultimately, successful resettlement equates to successful integration measures. The issues of policy legacy and learning as well as elements of the available support network for asylum seekers in housing, Integrationskurse (integration courses), and advice centers are examined to understand how each relates to successful integration and security for asylum seekers. The findings indicate that Germany has achieved successful resettlement and integration of asylum seekers through policy learning from the early 1990s onwards and a strong support network available for those seeking asylum, yet the exclusion of certain groups from integration measures unfairly leaves some behind. A continuous evaluation of these integration measures is necessary to ensure the successful resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany in anticipated future peaks in asylum seeker applications.