The Everywhere Border: Digital Migration Control Infrastructure in the Americas

While the risks to vulnerable migrant populations by a border wall patrolled by armed guards is obvious, what happens when the border becomes digital, extending far beyond the U.S.? In an essay for the Transnational Institute entitled The Everywhere Border: Digital Migration Control Infrastructure in the Americas, the authors focus their attention on the emerging ‘digital infrastructure’ that increasingly expands covert surveillance, hides state violence, and is deeply tied to global power politics. By engaging in transnational cooperation with Central American countries, utilizing military-grade technologies such as biometric data collection and putting power in the hands of ‘Big Tech’ Corporations, the U.S. government has now extended its border as far as the southern limits of Mexico. The authors argue that this development poses significant risks to the human rights of migrants, tracking them well before they reach the U.S., and categorizing them as threats to homeland security. Difficulties arise in advocating for the human rights of these migrants due to the invisible nature of these technologies, the geopolitical motivation to dominate access to information, and the inability of existing institutions to adapt. Ultimately, the authors ring the alarm and state that this is only the beginning, and that vast collective efforts to challenge this type of overreach will be necessary if advocacy groups are to be successful in protecting the rights of migrants. (The Immigrant Learning Center’s Public Education Institute)

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