232 12. The normalization of surveillance of movement in an era of reinforcing privacy standards Valsamis Mitsilegas and Niovi Vavoula INTRODUCTION The past three decades have witnessed a profound transformation in the way immigration control is performed. Action has moved outside and beyond the physical border (Ryan and Mitsilegas 2010) and empha- sis is placed on preventing the flow of migrants (Bigo and Guild 2005; Mitsilegas 2011, 2012, 2015a). A key trend in this context has been the growing intertwining of immigration with criminality, as expressed in the aftermath of each terrorist event (Mitsilegas 2011), from 9/11 to the most recent attacks in Brussels in March 2016. In the EU in particular, the process of securitizing migration has been twofold; on the one hand, asylum and visa applications as well as entry and exit procedures have been put under the microscope, as they are considered central also for the prevention and investigation of crimes, particular of terrorism (European Council 2004: 7). On the other hand, security considerations have had a major impact in determining the aims and rules of the envisaged instru- ments. The evolution of digital technologies has been an indispensable component of these efforts to control the movement of third-country nationals. As Bonditti (2004: 465) has pointed out, technology has been the ‘servant mistress of politics’ resulting to what Besters and Brom (2009: 455) have termed as ‘the digitalization of the European migration policy’. In this framework, modern technological advents, particularly the most controversial ones, such as fingerprinting, ‘terrorist profiling’ and travel surveillance ‘have been (and are still being) “tested” on migrants and refu- gees or otherwise legitimized at the border’ (Hayes 2009: 35). The establishment of EU immigration databases is a prime example in this context. Enabled by the technological evolution and driven by secu- rity considerations in the post-9/11 world, three large-scale information systems, the Schengen Information System (SIS II), the Eurodac and the Visa Information System (VIS) are currently operational, while the estab- lishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) is under discussion. Furthermore, as a response to the phenomenon of the so-called ‘foreign fighters’, the BOURBEAU TEXT.indd 232 22/02/2017 10:30