Around the world, migrants are being deported at alarming rates — how did this become normalised?
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Andonea Jon Dickson examines how mass deportations have become normalized across Western democracies, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Under President Donald Trump, the US is expanding detention and deportation efforts, making deals with third countries to receive non-citizens. Australia’s Labor government signed a secretive A$2.5 billion deal with Nauru to accommodate deportees, while the UK’s Labour party removed 35,000 people in 2024—a 25% increase from the previous year. The article traces how governments have reframed asylum-seeking from a human right to a criminal act, brandishing migrants as “illegal” to justify detention and deportation.
Dickson argues that this trend reflects rising authoritarianism through the elimination of procedural fairness—reducing notice periods, appeal rights, and access to legal counsel. Barack Obama deported three million people during his presidency, while Trump has cast a wider net, detaining citizens and non-citizens alike. These policies terrorize targeted communities and have emboldened far-right groups, while grassroots organizations in Los Angeles, London, and elsewhere are mobilizing counter-movements demanding welcome and unity over exclusion and expulsion.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Global Deportation Expansion
The US, UK, and Australia are dramatically expanding deportation programs, banishing migrants to third countries with no prior connection.
Criminalizing Asylum
Governments have reframed asylum-seeking from a human right to a criminal act, justifying detention through “illegal” language.
Elimination of Procedural Fairness
Authoritarian tactics include reducing notice periods, appeal rights, and legal counsel access for rushed, opaque deportation procedures.
Third Country Deportation Deals
Trump approached 58 countries for deportation agreements, while Australia guaranteed Nauru A$2.5 billion over three decades.
Emboldening Far-Right Movements
Deportation policies legitimize neo-Nazi groups and redefine neoliberal policy failures as migration problems rather than systemic issues.
Grassroots Resistance
Communities in Los Angeles, London, and elsewhere organize counter-demonstrations and support networks against detention and deportation.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Normalizing Authoritarian Deportation
The article’s central thesis is that Western democracies have normalized mass deportations through the systematic criminalization of migration and elimination of procedural fairness. Dickson traces how governments across the US, UK, and Australia have reframed asylum-seeking as a criminal act, creating an authoritarian climate where deportations occur without proper legal protections, terrorizing communities and emboldening far-right movements.
Purpose
To Expose and Mobilize
Dickson writes to expose how deportation policies have been normalized through criminalizing language and authoritarian practices, while documenting grassroots resistance efforts. The article aims to mobilize readers by showing that these policies terrorize communities and legitimize far-right extremism, arguing that opposition movements must transform local resistance into coalitions capable of confronting authoritarian politics of exclusion.
Structure
Comparative → Historical → Resistance
The article begins with comparative analysis of deportation policies across three countries, then provides historical context explaining how migration became criminalized over three decades. It examines specific mechanisms of authoritarianism (elimination of appeals, reduced notice periods) before documenting grassroots resistance movements, creating a structure that moves from diagnosis to historical explanation to potential solutions.
Tone
Critical, Urgent & Analytical
Dickson adopts a critical tone toward government policies, using terms like “alarming,” “terrorise,” and “creeping death” to convey urgency. The analytical tone draws on historical context, legal frameworks, and expert testimony to substantiate claims about authoritarianism. Despite documenting disturbing trends, the tone ends with measured hopefulness by highlighting grassroots resistance movements organizing for alternative politics.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Made to conform to or regarded as normal; brought into common acceptance so that something unusual becomes viewed as standard practice.
“Around the world, migrants are being deported at alarming rates — how did this become normalised?”
The practice of having certain job functions or services performed by an external organization or country rather than internally.
“The expansion and outsourcing of deportation is underpinned by long histories of criminalising migration.”
A system of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms, where obedience to authority overrides personal liberty.
“…tied to a rising authoritarianism across purportedly liberal Western countries.”
Characterized or differentiated by race or ethnicity; subjected to racial categorization or discrimination based on perceived racial identity.
“Racialised people living in the community have also been subject to increased policing, regardless of their migration status.”
Done with excessive speed or urgency; hurried and often lacking proper consideration or careful planning.
“To expedite his pledge to deport one million people in his first year, the Trump administration hastily set up detention centres…”
Given confidence or courage to do something; made more assertive or daring, often through encouragement or validation.
“These policies have also legitimised and emboldened far-right, neo-Nazi groups, who have taken to the streets…”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1The UK’s Labour party under Keir Starmer completely abandoned deportation policies after criticizing the Conservative Rwanda plan.
2According to migration expert Alison Mountz, what has the criminalization of migration contributed to?
3Which sentence best illustrates the authoritarian nature of recent deportation practices?
4Based on the article, determine whether each statement about deportation policies is true or false.
Australia’s Labor government signed a deal guaranteeing Nauru A$2.5 billion over three decades to accommodate deportees.
Barack Obama was branded “Deporter in Chief” for achieving a record three million deportations while in office.
The Trump administration approached 23 third countries to accept deported non-nationals.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be inferred about the relationship between deportation policies and far-right political movements?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Over the past three decades, legal obstacles and securitized borders have forced those fleeing war and persecution to rely on unauthorized routes to seek refuge. Governments have simultaneously reframed the act of seeking asylum from a protected human right into a criminal act, brandishing those on the move as “illegal” to justify both onshore and offshore immigration detention. This criminalizing language, once limited to right-wing press, is now echoed by politicians across the political spectrum and enshrined in legislation, normalizing deportations as standard practice.
After lowering visa cancellation thresholds in 2014, Australia detained people with minor offenses and scheduled them for deportation. Those who couldn’t be returned to their home countries languished in detention until a 2023 high court ruling mandated their release. Despite having served their sentences plus protracted periods in detention, a media frenzy framed these individuals as major threats to the community. The Labor government responded by legislating to deport them to third countries, along with thousands of others on precarious visas.
In June, eight people were deported from the US to South Sudan without the chance to contest their removal. After a failed court intervention, the three liberal US Supreme Court justices stated that “The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone, anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard.” This criticism highlights the explicit authoritarianism where deportations occur through elimination of procedural fairness, including reduced notice periods, limited appeal rights, and restricted access to legal counsel.
Readlite provides curated articles with comprehensive analysis including summaries, key points, vocabulary building, and practice questions across 9 different RC question types. Our Ultimate Reading Course offers 365 articles with 2,400+ questions to systematically improve your reading comprehension skills.
This article is rated Intermediate because it requires understanding of complex political concepts like authoritarianism, procedural fairness, and the criminalization of migration. The vocabulary includes specialized terms such as “securitised,” “racialised,” and “expunge,” while the content demands synthesizing information across multiple countries’ policies and understanding the relationship between government actions and far-right movements. Readers must grasp how historical context informs current practices and follow arguments about systemic policy changes across three Western democracies.
Communities are organizing to counter deportation policies through multiple strategies. In Los Angeles, grassroots organizations mobilized to counter escalating ICE raids, creating networks that provide information and support to those targeted by arrests. In July, Detention Watch Network relaunched the Communities Not Cages coalition of grassroots campaigns against detention. In the UK, far-right rallies at asylum hotels have been met by counter-demonstrations insisting on politics of welcome and unity. However, the challenge remains transforming local and national opposition into coalitions capable of confronting the broader rise in authoritarian politics of exclusion and expulsion.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
