Foreigners and migrants:

the Uruguayan legal-penitentiary system vis-à-vis non-nationals

Abstract

The article analyzes research conducted between 2018 and 2022 in Montevideo, focusing on the migrant population deprived of liberty and their access to rights and justice. The study worked with men mainly from Cuba and the Dominican Republic, as well as other countries in South America and Africa, whose displacements are primarily motivated by economic reasons, although they are intertwined with political and religious factors. The analysis is carried out from the perspective of belonging or not belonging to the national order, which allows for examining how migrants have less legitimacy and challenge the functioning of the state, its bureaucracy, and the norms of national society. We seek to contribute to knowledge about the relationship between the migrant population and the penal system based on questions such as: What is the nature of the link between the migrant population and the penal system? What specific obstacles do these individuals face in the system? What aspects of the penal system are questioned or challenged by working with migrants and foreigners?