Entangled in the technology-driven borderscape: Border crossers rendered to their digital self

Abstract

EU management of migration is undergoing an unprecedented transformation because of the use of databases and information systems. Drawing on the concept of border performativity, this article discusses how data is transforming the border. In particular, the article focuses on 1) how the EU JHA databases are evolving, from separate systems each with one purpose to multi-purpose databases, and 2) how the new EU plan – the interoperability regulation – connects and merges biometric and biographical data, as part of a shift from a silo-based approach towards a single centralised information system. The article – based on results of several research projects carried out between 2011 and 2019 adopting mixed methodology – discusses the border crossers’ role in challenging this digital border control, both in light of the current practices of data collection and processing and newly approved EU regulations. The article argues that the transformation of border control practices into practices driven by data processing makes it more difficult for border crossers to manoeuvre the system and legally challenge decisions based on data processing, thus, hampering the transformation of the border from below.