”Dom kallar den här som en förvaret”: A qualitative study of the lived experiences of immigrant detention in Sweden

Abstract: This thesis addresses the lived experiencesof immigrant detention in Sweden, in the light of Sweden’s ongoing expansion of its detention capacity, and increasingly deportation focused migration policy. The research follows a qualitative design. Qualitative interviews with current and former detainees comprise the main source of data. The sampling method used for the study is generic purposive snowball sampling, and collected data is analyzed through a Critical Discourse Analysis. The thesis argues, in coherence with previous studies, that there is a gap between the official discourse, and the lived experiences of immigrant detention in Sweden. The analysis of the research illustrates how immigrant detainees’ experience administrative confinement as punitive and criminalizing. The study stresses the importance of increasing critical understanding of practices of immigrant detention, calling for more critical research on the topic.