The EU wants to turn its database for the registration of asylum seekers, EURODAC, into a violent tool of mass surveillance against migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and racialised people in the EU.
On April 10, the European Parliament will vote on the expansion of EURODAC.
There’s a laundry list of harms this will lead to, such as facial recognition, leading to an increased risk of people being deported and harmed while also invading their privacy. People who are seeking asylum can now be forced to give their fingerprints and face scans. Refusal will lead to detention and other punitive measures. This can be adapted to children as young as six years old. These practices are not only intrusive but also strip asylum seekers of their dignity.
The expansion of EURODAC will increase racial profiling that will harm all racialised people in the EU. Together with several other civil society actors La Strada International already urged EU lawmakers to stop EURODAC in a statement in December 2023.