VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought profound changes to global immigration systems, with governments touting “smart borders” as efficient, secure, and future-ready.
However, as more borders rely on AI to process travellers, identify risks, and screen migrants, critics warn that what is being built is not a faster gateway, but a digital wall.
From predictive risk scoring and facial recognition to emotion analysis and AI-powered lie detection, immigration authorities are quietly implementing technologies once reserved for science fiction.
As these systems scale up, so do questions about algorithmic bias, surveillance overreach, and the erosion of due process.
Amicus International Consulting, a leading advisory firm specializing in legal identity transitions and secure international mobility, has been closely monitoring the shift.
According to the firm, these changes don’t just affect refugees or undocumented migrants—they impact every global traveller and citizen whose freedom depends on crossing borders.
What Are “Smart Borders”?
A bright border refers to the integration of artificial intelligence, biometric systems, and automated decision-making tools into border control infrastructure. These systems aim to streamline entry and exit, flag high-risk individuals, and combat issues such as human trafficking, terrorism, and visa fraud.
Key components include:
- Biometric Verification: Facial recognition, iris scanning, fingerprinting
- AI Surveillance: Predictive algorithms that flag travellers based on past behaviour or metadata
- Digital ID Systems: Linking passports with digital identity tokens and risk profiles
- Automated Risk Scoring: AI tools that calculate travellers’ “threat level” in real-time
- Autonomous Kiosks: Replacing human officers with machines that run emotion or deception detection software
Smart borders improve efficiency and reduce human error. In practice, they can deepen inequities, deny entry without explanation, and institutionalize surveillance without oversight.
Case Study: Flagged by the Algorithm in Frankfurt
In late 2024, a Syrian doctor with a valid visa and a history of travel arrived at Frankfurt Airport en route to a medical conference in Sweden.
At the automated immigration gate, he was denied entry. No explanation was given. Later, it was revealed that an AI system contracted by Frontex had flagged his travel pattern as “statistically similar” to human trafficking suspects.
Despite clean credentials, he was deported back to Istanbul, blocked from the Schengen zone, and lost his opportunity to speak at the international forum.
“There was no person to appeal to. Just a red light,” he told journalists weeks later.
Predictive Profiling: The New Border Reality
One of the most controversial aspects of innovative border systems is predictive profiling—the use of AI to assess a traveller’s likelihood of committing a future crime or overstaying their visa.
These models ingest vast amounts of data, including travel history, visa applications, social media activity, and even language cues and micro-expressions during interviews.
Yet predictive profiling is inherently speculative. As Amicus notes, “Pre-crime logic” borrowed from significant tech risks transforming innocent people into digital suspects.
Worse still, the AI models are often “black boxes”—meaning even their creators cannot explain how a particular decision was made. For affected travellers, there is no transparency and no recourse.
Case Study: Blacklisted for a Retweet
In 2023, a Canadian environmental activist was denied entry into the United States. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) kiosk didn’t give a reason.
Through a FOIA request, the activist later learned that an automated screening tool had flagged her due to engagement with social media posts by climate protest groups, none of which were illegal or listed as terrorist organizations.
She was added to a secondary review list, and her Global Entry privileges were revoked. Her appeal was denied, leaving her with no avenue for formal dispute.
Are Smart Borders Smarter?
Proponents of AI-enhanced borders claim that these systems increase efficiency, reduce wait times, and catch threats that humans might miss. However, critics argue that smart borders disproportionately impact:
- Refugees and asylum seekers with inconsistent documentation
- Stateless persons lacking biometric history
- Political dissidents under algorithmic surveillance
- Travellers from the Global South are more likely to be flagged due to origin-based risk modelling
In a 2024 report by the European Digital Rights organization, researchers found that biometric systems at EU borders had a false positive rate nearly 8 times higher for Black and Middle Eastern travellers compared to white European travellers.
Amicus International: Legal Solutions in an Age of Automated Exclusion
Amicus International Consulting offers a crucial safeguard for individuals and families affected by the rise of AI border controls. The firm’s services are designed to restore control over one’s legal identity, movement, and privacy:
- Second Citizenship Programs: Legal pathways to a second passport in jurisdictions outside major surveillance-sharing blocs
- Legal Name Change Services: Establishing new identities in compliance with international law
- Digital Travel Mapping: Planning low-risk, low-surveillance travel routes using real-time border technology intelligence
- TIN and Residency Structuring: Enabling secure financial and immigration compliance without exposing vulnerable data
- Flag Theory Implementation: Structuring multiple legal residencies to mitigate travel blocklists or surveillance risks
For clients flagged by AI systems, Amicus offers strategic support to dispute records, seek deletion from watchlists, and navigate legal remedies in cross-border contexts.
Case Study: A Corporate Whistleblower Avoids Retaliation
In 2022, a Latin American compliance officer exposed corruption within a state-linked energy firm. Months later, while travelling to a United Nations meeting, she was denied boarding due to “security concerns” despite holding diplomatic credentials.
Amicus intervened, identified the AI risk flag (linked to her digital fingerprint through leaked internal files), and coordinated a successful name change, second citizenship application, and biometric decoupling.
She now travels freely on a new legal identity and continues her advocacy work safely.
Legal and Ethical Challenges
The rapid deployment of AI at borders has outpaced the development of legal protections. Key concerns include:
- Lack of Transparency: No requirement for authorities to disclose when AI systems make immigration decisions
- No Right of Appeal: Travellers flagged by an algorithm often cannot challenge their status
- Algorithmic Bias: Many systems rely on historical data, which may reflect entrenched discrimination
- Third-Party Involvement: Private firms increasingly control border data, complicating accountability
In the current landscape, travellers are subject to digital profiling without their informed consent.
The International Legal Gap
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sets passport standards, but offers no governance for the algorithms behind border AI. Similarly, while the European Union’s GDPR offers data protection for residents, it doesn’t apply to non-EU travelers transiting through AI systems hosted by private security contractors.
Even more troubling, governments often share biometric and behavioral data with intelligence networks such as Five Eyes or INTERPOL, bypassing national legal safeguards entirely.
What Travelers Should Know
If you’re concerned about AI screening at borders, Amicus recommends the following actions:
- Know the Risk Zones: Countries like the U.S., UK, Australia, and EU states use AI heavily at points of entry.
- Avoid High-Profile Travel Routes: Especially if you’re engaged in sensitive political, corporate, or journalistic work.
- Secure a Legal Secondary Identity: Having a second passport or alternate identity may help avoid being flagged.
- Review Your Digital Footprint: AI may analyze your social media, browsing history, and metadata.
- Consult Before You Travel: A professional audit by a privacy and legal identity consultant can reduce exposure.
Case Study: A Student Flagged as a Threat
A Pakistani PhD student in the U.S. was detained at JFK Airport after a trip home. An AI system linked his travel history, visa type, and keyword searches to a “medium-risk” classification. He was denied re-entry and expelled from his program.
Amicus intervened, uncovering that the risk model was flawed due to outdated metadata and generalized behavioural mapping. The student’s academic institution assisted in a formal protest, and his visa was reinstated months later.
The Future of AI at Borders
The global border landscape is entering a new phase, where lines aren’t drawn with barbed wire, but with algorithms. The challenge for democracies is how to balance safety with freedom.
In the coming years, AI will likely expand into:
- Emotion and deception detection systems
- Behavioural biometrics that analyze how you walk, type, or blink
- Blockchain-based borderless identity networks
- Social credit modelling is used to deny visas or flag “undesirable” travellers
If unregulated, these systems risk turning entire populations into perpetual suspects.
Amicus International’s Call for Reform
Amicus International Consulting supports efforts to regulate the deployment of AI at borders. The firm urges:
- Mandatory human review of all automated denial decisions
- Public disclosure of AI criteria and data inputs
- Cross-border legal standards for biometric data usage
- Protections for whistleblowers, journalists, and dissidents travelling under legal risk
- The establishment of digital privacy rights for all international travelers—not just citizens of privileged countries
About Amicus International Consulting
Amicus International Consulting is a global advisory firm specializing in legal identity change, second passport services, and private travel solutions.
The organization helps individuals navigate surveillance-heavy environments, politically motivated travel bans, and international legal obstacles to movement.
With operations across the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia, Amicus is a trusted partner for secure global mobility.
Contact Information
Phone: +1 (604) 200-5402
Email: info@amicusint.ca
Website: www.amicusint.ca