A New Architecture for Border Management

Information and technology are the centerpieces of a new border architecture that seeks to respond to the competing demands of facilitating mobility and managing cross-border risks while remaining cost-efficient, essentially error-free, and respectful of individuals’ rights and privacy. With the massive increase in global travel and new security risks, governments must strategically approach border management systems to ensure their properly balanced development. 

This development is being pursued in two major ways: for one, borders are being “pushed out” as border officials now analyze detailed traveler information prior to individuals arriving at a port of entry, and two, new techniques are being used to verify individuals’ identity more effectively, using procedures such as biometric information collection.

However, the growing reliance on biometrics in managing mobility has raised questions about data protection, privacy, and how individuals whose data have been misused can seek redress. As international partnerships play an increasingly critical role in border management, consistent data-protection standards must be created to assist international collaboration on security and mobility issues, and help countries to consider national policies within a more strategic framework.

Though governments and legislatures have dedicated enormous sums to building new border management systems, the benefits of new technology must be weighed against its costs and limitations: it requires enormous financial capital, is difficult to design and implement correctly, and rapidly becomes obsolete. Governments need to strategically allocate resources to improve system knowledge and analysis of data while keeping in mind the long-term feasibility of a project.