Reconciling protection of foreign national victims of forced criminality with effective immigration control: is a new approach required?

The proposed research will investigate and analyse the support available to, and impacts of, immigration control on foreign national victims of modern slavery (as defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2015) focusing on those forced into criminality. The research is divided into two parts: First, an interrogation into the extent to which the current model of immigration enforcement and control inhibits effective recovery and contributes to risk of re-trafficking of foreign national offender victims of criminal exploitation ("FNOVs"). Second, an analysis of the tension between the competing interest of the state in maintaining effective immigration control and the interest of the victims, and whether these can be reconciled through the development of an alternative framework in which those factors coexist.
The overarching aim of this research is to identify a viable policy strategy for facilitating recovery and reducing risk of further exploitation for FNOVs, whilst maintaining the state's legitimate interest in immigration control and reduction in crime. To address this, the project will consider to what extent immigration control and criminalisation policy and practices are prioritised over supporting the interests of the vulnerable, and to what extent the existing policy framework and stated policy aims in respect of all foreign national offenders ("FNOs") inhibit recovery and increase risk of re-exploitation of FNOVs. I will consider existing fault lines resulting in missed opportunities for prevention, identification and recovery for FNOVs, and the societal costs arising from any such systemic failures. Finally the project will explore how the non-punishment principle be more effectively implemented into immigration and anti-trafficking policy.
The backdrop for the project is the 'hostile environment' introduced in 2012, which has led to an increasingly restrictive and punitive legislative and policy framework in respect of FNOs. Forced criminality is the second most common form of exploitation in the UK for adults, and the most common type in respect of children. Whilst County Lines trafficking has received significant attention in recent years there has been little focus on the impact on FNOVs and the issues that differentiate their experiences from that of their British counterparts.
In contrast with hostile environment principles, sit the protective measures introduced to further the UK's compliance with its international obligations for victims of trafficking. Whilst support is currently available to FNOVs, the existence of a deportation order prohibits access to employment, study, and public funds more broadly. The current framework has drawn heavy criticism from the anti-trafficking sector both domestically and internationally. The competing interests of the state, complying with its international obligations to protect the vulnerable while attempting to reconcile these with state interests in controlling immigration, raise important questions about the capacity of the state to deliver on its civil and political human rights obligations, the legitimacy of state power, and the ability to ensure equality of justice.
The non-punishment principle has attracted academic attention, and the sector has raised concerns about the conflation of immigration enforcement and anti-trafficking measures. However, research conducted on FNOVs tends to either analyse the psychological impacts of punishment, or the failure to identify and/or appropriately support detained individuals. There is no research which specifically considers the tension between the two competing objectives, or which seeks to understand the impact on FNOVs. This research would therefore fill a significant knowledge gap, resulting in improvements to public policy and administration in respect of FNOVs. It is hoped that such improvements would have profound and positive impact, both on a community level and more broadly through a reduced burden on public service