Gazing into the all-seeing eye

The hunt for illegal migrants and calls for 'security' are currently creating a spectacular growth of opaque databases.

An immense machine is under construction in and around Europe's borders, an international control system consisting of legislation, databases and high-tech equipment, managed by thousands of dedicated officials. 'Ordinary' Europeans do not have to deal with it and are hardly aware of it. But foreigners, legal, and especially illegal migrants all the more so. It is for them that this machine is meant.