par Coupain, Nicolas 
Référence Revue Belge d'histoire contemporaine, 33, 1-2, page (5-48)
Publication Publié, 2003
Référence Revue Belge d'histoire contemporaine, 33, 1-2, page (5-48)
Publication Publié, 2003
Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | The expulsion of aliens in Belgium is a topic that must be studied in the larger context of immigration policy and the legal status of aliens. In the nineteenth century, the Belgian law on this subject was vague. A provisional law was enacted in 1835, during a period disrupted by conflict with The Netherlands. This law was renewed until 1897 when it became permanent. The regulations issued by the Minister of Justice and the administrative jurisprudence were used to compensate the uncertainty surrounding the provisional law. Consequently, the aliens' fate often depended on the discretionary power of the administrator of the "Sûreté publique", the principal actor in this matter. The "Sûreté publique", and in particular the "Police des étrangers" department, was seconded by the municipal police, by the "gendarmerie" and and its foreign equivalents. This collaboration sometimes had mixed results, but also resulted in quite outstanding information networks. When classifying expelled aliens using Sûreté statistics, one notes that a large majority of cases have to do with vagrancy, followed by crimes and misdemeanours and political reasons. This distribution reflects the objectives of Belgian immigration policy: ensuring public order and protecting national economic and political interests. During the 19 th century this policy shifted between severity and flexibility and depended on international events or economic conjuncture. The period beginning with the Independence and ending in the early 1850's was characterised by security measures, because of the conflict with The Netherlands, the bad economic conjuncture and the French revolution of 1848, causing an influx of French outlaws of the Second Empire. From 1853, when the situation in France calmed down, to the Commune (1871), the political and economic situation was stable and the state's intervention was limited. From 1871 to 1914, the number of expulsion measures grew due to the Commune and the new recession. |
