Departheid: re-politicising the inhumane treatment of illegalised migrants in so-called liberal democratic states

The systemic violence against unarmed migrants and refugees in Western countries poses a pertinent challenge to scholars interested in the governance of human mobility in the 21st century. By advancing the notion of Departheid, this chapter attempts to capture a hegemonic governing doctrine, imposed in so-called liberal democratic states, that legitimises the repression and deportation of illegalised migrants at all costs. In recognising Departheid, we re-politicise the disproportionate violence inflicted on racialised migrants and refugees from the Global South. The humiliating and dehumanising treatment of non-Western, non-White migrants and refugees is treated as a direct effect of colonial power structures and the pervasive - albeit at times unconscious - ideological purchase of White Supremacy among politicians, policymakers, civil servants and frontline bureaucrats. The chapter expounds on the notion of Departheid and outlines five concrete academic and political fronts on which it can help to advance research and activism around oppressive mobility regimes.