Personal information of people on the move is sometimes taken by police or border authorities, sometimes without consent, under pressure, or through intimidation/threat such as of detention or violence. This can mean that people’s information is given without knowing how it will be used and stored – a violation of privacy laws, but also a vicious tool of control, surveillance, and intimidation which can put people further at risk of state violence.
Sometimes this information may be taken with the intent of submitting it to EURODAC, alongside biometric data like fingerprints. This infrastructure of surveillance is used not just to manage asylum applications (the official purpose of the collection of personal information and biometrics) but also to criminalise and monitor people on the move and those engaging in solidarity work. Physical force on the borders is accompanied by a bureaucratic violence of surveillance in the form of mass collection of personal information.
