Refugees, immigrants, and people on the move have long been tied to tropes of bringing disease and illness. From pandemics to genocides, people crossing borders whether by force or by choice are talked about in apocalyptic terms like ‘flood’ or ‘wave,’ underscored by rampant xenophobia, racism, and elemental fear of ‘The Other’. Not only are these formulations blatantly incorrect, they also legitimize far reaching state incursion and increasingly hardline policies of surveillance and techno-solutionism to manage migration.
These practices become all the more apparent in the current global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a matter of days, we have already seen Big Tech present a variety of ‘solutions’ for fighting the coronavirus sweeping the globe, including surveillance tools and increased monitoring. Coupled with extraordinary state powers in times of exception, the incursion of private sector solutions leaves open the possibility of grave human rights abuses and far reaching incursions on civil liberties. While emergency powers can be legitimate if grounded in science and the need to protect health and safety, history shows that states commit abuses in times of exception. New technologies can often facilitate these abuses, particularly against marginalized communities.
