Short abstract:

The paper analyzes the values, norms, and bodies of knowledge that are mobilized in decision making and the governance of biometric innovation in migration management and migration control.

Long abstract:

The so-called “migration crisis” has become a key issue in public discourse in countries around the world. Attempts to control migration and resolve this “crisis” have increasingly relied on innovation in biometric technologies. Biometrics is the measurement and analysis of personal physical and behavioral features, such as the face or biological age.

Biometric technologies disguise the human bias inherent to the development and deployment of technologies. They are nonetheless applied to vulnerable populations, including migrants such as refugees and asylum-seekers. They are routinely produced and deployed by policy makers, border control, developers, and other (potential) users to categorize migrants, generate suspicion, and address a collectively felt, “diagnosed” deficit regarding migration control.

This paper critically examines the decision-making relating to socio-technological innovation and use of biometrics in migration management. It highlights how specific social contexts and political cultures frame the goals, risks, and benefits of biometric technological innovation in migration. I use the concept of “ethical regimes” (Radin and Kowal 2015) as an analytical lens to better understand how decisions on biometric innovations in migrations contexts are made. The argument draws on extensive interviews with various stakeholders, ethnographic research, and document analyses. The paper sheds light on the values, norms, and bodies of knowledge that are mobilized in decision making and the governance of biometric innovation.