Navigating the Proportional Path of Automated Decision-Making in Migration and Asylum

The digitalisation of public administration within the European Union is reshaping decision-making governance, notably through the growing reliance on artificial intelligence systems for automated decision-making. These systems, designed to enhance decision-making efficiency, are increasingly used at every stage of migration and asylum processes, from forecasting for future mobility to identity verification and settlement assistance. While these technologies promise enhanced efficiency in decision-making, they also present challenges, such as the potential infringement of fundamental rights. This paper assesses the capacity of European Union law to safeguard the rights of migrants and asylum seekers subjected to automated decision-making, considering the proliferation and intersection of legislative instruments in the areas of data protection, artificial intelligence, and migration and asylum. It highlights the loopholes in the General Data Protection Regulation, the Artificial Intelligence Act, and the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, showing how these frameworks fall short of addressing the risks posed by automated decision-making in these areas. The analysis situates these shortcomings within the European Union co-legislator’s ex-ante application of the general principle of proportionality, demonstrating that proportionality has ceased to function as an autonomous safeguard against public authority overreach, and arguing that its role must be revisited.