Statewatch

Quote from Romain Lanneau, "Technologies are becoming ever-present in the asylum and immigration system. Often, law enforcement and immigration authorities experiment with unreliable systems at the cost of migrants’ rights. Understanding what technologies are used and what redress are available is becoming indispensable." Information about the event appears in a text box below the quote.

Register now for the upcoming event, AI in the Field of Asylum and Immigration Law, to hear more from Statewatch researcher Romain Lanneau.

Host: ERA Academy of European Law
Dates: 9-10 March 2026
Location: Online

More details and registration info:
buff.ly/Tjoqhkx

We've just published a document that details the EU's disturbing plans to expand cross-border travel surveillance.

The changes include using travel data for new purposes, such as immigration control, and bypassing important safeguards.

Read more: buff.ly/N8iffJW

Are the EU's border policy plans similar to the US?

Listen in as Statewatch journalist Frey Lindsay shares the answer on Lagos Talks radio.

Want to help change the direction? Follow our bulletin, Outsourcing borders, here: buff.ly/8qfXgJa

Speaker: @freylindsay.bsky.social

Spray-painted words "Caution! Spies operate in this area" are overlaid in a risograph style with a green microphone. Below this, text explaining the news is placed next to another spray-painted image depicting a person in a suit with a television for a head.

UK: A recent court case has exposed Nick Gratwick as a private spy hired by UK police.

The Undercover Research Group (URG) has been investigating Nick for many years, and now their new report details his activities throughout the late 1990s - early 2000s.

Read it here: buff.ly/kVFwYza

Quote from State watch Director, Chris Jones, that reads: "The power of states to surveil, monitor, harass and repress is being globalised. This is being done through digital infrastructures by obscure, secretive and technocratic organisations. Meanwhile, people's rights remain trapped by national borders, making it extremely difficult to seek redress and remedy for wrongdoing, or even simple errors."

As state powers of repression are globalised, so too must our resistance, advocacy and collaboration.

We released our research, Networks of [in]security (NOIS), as a living resource to help us do that.

Read more and get in contact: buff.ly/MbWx0na

3/ With more states being connected to watchlisting systems, new information-sharing networks being put in place, and more governments with an authoritarian bent coming to power, transnational repression seems likely to continue.

Unless we work together to oppose it.

Read more: nois.statewatch.org

2/ It is typically less-than-liberal and authoritarian regimes behind this behaviour—but they are far from being the only culprits.

For example, no one would be surprised to hear that EU states have used regional watchlisting systems to bar pro-Palestine activists from entering their territory.

A visual overview of the caption text, showing a collage of images: a speaker wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh with a "police do not cross" sign behind, both in front of a tall fence, and a security camera with an eye pasted over the lens above two people holding placards about Palestine.

1/ Governments are increasingly engaging in transnational repression: reaching across borders to silence dissent from afar.

This can include assassinations, illegal deportations, abductions, digital threats, Interpol abuse, and family intimidation.

Statewatch | How the EU migration pact will increase harms in Serbia and along the Balkan route The EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum is likely to send the situation for migrants and refugees in the Balkans from bad to worse: more containment of people on the move through cruel tactics such as…

3/ Real protection means listening to people on the move, creating spaces for dignity and self-determination, and resisting the machinery that turns migration into a security threat.

Until then, people will continue to face extreme harm.

Read more: buff.ly/zMl3FIV

2/ Info Park makes it clear: border externalisation, like the “migration management” complex it is a part of, is not a neutral administrative tool.

It is a political project of exclusion.

It cannot be fixed with better monitoring or more audits.

Above a black print of a barbed fence, a demonstrator holds a placard that says "open the border". Above the image, text reads: the EU migration pact will increase existing harms in Serbia and all along the Western Balkan route. It will mean more cruel tactics of policing and pushbacks, more bureaucracy and digital controls, and a further closure of civic space."

According Info Park, an organisation in Belgrade, Serbia, people on the move along the Western Balkan route face a cycle of of detention, transfers, and endless reattempts.

The EU's new pact on migration will only worsen these brutal realities.

And if you haven't yet, sign up to our dedicated mailing list to receive the next issue directly in your inbox: buff.ly/PqTARAJ

The 12th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨

This edition covers:
• Efforts to expand Frontex’s mandate
• Growing concerns over the EU’s digital border systems
• Threats to undermine EU's new migration "solidarity" system

And more, here: buff.ly/GK3RMMW

The “war on terror” might have left the headlines—but states are still using and abusing ‘counterterrorism’ powers to exert control.

And for the past two years, we have been gathering evidence to show exactly how they do it.

Swipe to read some of our key findings, or go to nois.statewatch.org

5/ Find out more here: nois.statewatch.org

Research: Chris Jones, Romain Lanneau, Yasha Maccanico, Jamie Hancock, Julia Link, Theresa Wagner
Editing: Gavin Sullivan
Support: Funders Initiative for Civil Society
Graphics: Ida Flik
Design: @wearecomotion.bsky.social + TINGE

4/ What needs to change:

• We need new models of safety and security.
• We need alternatives to pervasive surveillance and control.
• We need to challenge the policies that enable these systems, halt their spread, and ensure accountability.

That means we need to be campaigning from every angle.

3/ These powers, systems, & technologies are increasingly global and interconnected. It’s led to vast surveillance networks of international travel, border enforcement, & state ‘watchlists’.

These networks are about power and control—and reinforcing racism and discrimination on a global scale.

2/ Background:

From the beginning of the “war on terror”, governments introduced many policing and surveillance powers. Since then, these have been increasingly exploited to restrict dissent, movement, and critique.

1/ We’ve just launched a new in-depth resource that examines global counter-terrorism and security networks.

It provides an evidence base for how these security norms are implemented, their effects on human rights and how we can push for change.

In October 2024 the EU announced it would provide €30 million from its aid budget to Senegal.

Ultimately, the plans can be seen as contributing to a new era of carceral EU migration “management” in West Africa.

Read more in the latest article by Leonie Jegen:

buff.ly/ImferiV

According to a document we obtained, EU member states seem ready to give US law enforcement authorities direct access to European police and immigration databases.

While some member states have concerns over specifics, none question the need for such an agreement.

Read more: buff.ly/qGEDeGK

On one half of the common ‘woman yelling at cat’ meme, a long haired woman is being held back while yelling and pointing at to the right. In this version, a flag of the European Union covers her face. Above the image is the text: “The EU’s increasing datafication”. On the other half, an angry cat sits at a table of food. This is labelled as “lawyers using data protection law”. Below the meme, in large letters are the words “protect our rights and lives. get the handbook now.” Next to these is an image of Statewatch’s Data Protection Handbook.

Data protection law is a crucial tool for immigration and asylum practitioners up against the EU's increasing ‘datafication’. Its avenues for redress offer alternative paths to justice for those who might otherwise be without options.

Want to learn more? Get the handbook here: buff.ly/b3jc3Oj

Extralimitaciones tecnológicas contra las personas migrantes Las tecnologías de control fronterizo, bajo el pretexto de la seguridad nacional, priman el beneficio de las autoridades estatales, opacando el de la persona migrante...

Gran trabajo de @statewatch.bsky.social editando esta guía sobre privacidad y protección de datos para los profesionales de #inmigración y #asilo: Extralimitaciones tecnológicas contra las personas migrantes. Te lo cuento en @publico.es
#ProtecciónInternacional
www.publico.es/opinion/colu...

Romain Lanneau, a white man with chin-length hair, is pictured in a button-up shirt next to a quote of him saying "Technologies are becoming an essential part of the migration and asylum systems. In fact, some of the most intrusive and biased tools have been tested around Europe. No matter what these tools are for or how they are used, they are all reliant to some degree on personal data. This is why knowledge of data protection law is so vital for immigration and asylum practitioners.” The photo is grainy, in black and white, and behind it are lots of squiggly marks in black marker.

Why should you care about data protection law? Because as the EU increases its datafication, we need to equip ourselves to protect our data.

Get the handbook now: buff.ly/b3jc3Oj

5. New agreements:
The EU signs a new partnership with Uzbekistan including provisions on deportation and border control.

Read the full issue, compiled by @freylindsay.bsky.social, for more: buff.ly/aMhNtOj

Sign up to get the next issue in your inbox: buff.ly/zaOtWYX

4. Turkey and Libya cooperation:
The Danish Presidency praises the €12.5 billion EU–Turkey deal as a “success” and seeks to restart deportations. Meanwhile, the Council claims to apply “human rights-based approaches” even as reports emerge of attacks by the Libyan Coast Guard on rescue vessels.

2. Visa leverage for deportations:
New strategy outlines how visa regimes can be used to pressure countries into accepting deportations.

3. Deportations Regulation:
The latest draft further reduces safeguards, allowing longer detention & deportations to in countries with known human rights issues.

The 11th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is here.

Here are some of the updates.

1. Global counter-smuggling alliance:
The EU prepares a joint declaration for its global alliance on migrant smuggling, aiming to extend enforcement powers “along the whole route.”

5/ Why it matters:
Accessing these rights remains critically important, especially in asylum and migration cases.

If you want to learn about data protection and privacy laws, read our handbook! ⚠️

🟨 Find it here: buff.ly/ucYYara

4/ The ruling:
The court’s decision recognised that an interference with someone’s privacy happens when a state authority collects data about them. It ruled that the person should be able to understand how and when their data might be accessed and used.