Behind each deployment of a technology or system, there is a EU legal instrument that enables it and legalise its use.
EU regulations establishing the existence, structure, and mandate of the key EU agencies responsible for border management and migration enforcement, notably Frontex and Europol.
EU legislation regulating the legal framework governing the provision of asylum and international protection.
EU legislation regulating the management of EU internal and external borders, governing entry rights into the EU territory. This group also includes dedicated migration management or border control instruments of a digital nature, such as large-scale databases.
EU legislation criminalizing the facilitation of unauthorised entry or stay in the EU territory, which also includes acts of solidarity such as search and rescue operations or the providing shelter.
Legislations approved under this area are often justified under the false pretext of fighting migrant smuggling.
EU legislation regulating forced deportations of people to their country of origins and off-shore prisons in countries where the deported person has no link with.
Outside the migration policy domain, there are many other legal instruments that enable forms of digital surveillance in the migration context. For example, EU digital policies play a key role in enabling the violation of key digital rights, such as data protection. This section highlights also other practices such as funding instruments, international or bilateral agreements and arrangements with third countries, and practices for which no formal legal basis has been identified.
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Legislative instruments forming the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which reforms the EU approach to migration towards criminalisation, dentention and deportation. The Pact was approved in 2024, and it has become fully applicable as of June 2026.