An Ambiguous Ban on Ethnic Profiling : Reforming Immigration Law Enforcement at the Juncture of Non-Discrimination Norms and Migration

Abstract

The article examines a reform of internal immigration policing in Finland. It discusses the public debate on ethnic profiling and the legal reform process of regulating immigration law enforcement by the Finnish government from 2013 to 2015 through an analysis of official documents and media coverage. The reform included elements of both criminalisation of migration and human rights protections. The Finnish government added a ban on ethnic profiling in the Aliens Act. At the same time, it gave the police and the border guard more powers to conduct identity checks on foreign citizens. The paper argues that regulation and practices of immigration policing are affected by power positions of different national actors and the nature of public debate. The presence of ethnic minorities and representatives of civil society during the policy process and public discussions on ethnic and racial profiling in Finland was negligible. Both immigration policing and immigration law enforcement policy-making risk repeating formally equal patterns that are, in practice, biased. ; Peer reviewed