Technology at the Borders: Surveillance, Control and Resistance in EU Migration Governance

The Balsillie Papers Vol. 6 Issue 6 (2025)

The European Union has increasingly integrated advanced technologies—such as biometric databases, AI-driven decision-making systems, and surveillance tools—into its migration and border governance. This technological shift raises urgent ethical and legal concerns, as it often results in the dehumanization, exclusion, and rights violations of migrants. This research examines how these technologies are used by states to control migration and by migrants and solidarity networks to resist restrictive border regimes. Drawing on policy analysis, case studies, and documentation from human rights organizations, the study analyzes both institutional uses of technology and grassroots digital resistance. The findings show that while EU states use technology to externalize and securitize borders, migrants and solidarity actors repurpose the same tools to navigate, document, and contest border violence. These insights underscore the need for transparent, rights-based governance of migration technologies and challenge dominant narratives of technological neutrality in border control.