[论文解读] Security at the Border? The Lived Experiences of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the UK

Arshia Dutta, Rikke Bjerg Jensen|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 19, 2026

Innovative Human-Technology Interaction被引用 0

一句话总结

该论文以民族志方式探讨在英国的寻求庇护者和难民如何经历边境管制与更广泛的移民体系，这些遭遇如何随时间塑造他们的安全感与归属感。

ABSTRACT

We bring to light how some asylum seekers and refugees arriving in the UK experience border control and wider immigration systems, as well as the impact that these have on their subsequent lives in the UK. We do so through participant observation in a support organisation and interviews with caseworkers, asylum seekers and refugees. Specifically, our findings show how the first meeting with the border, combined with a 'hostile' immigration system, has a longer-term impact on their sense of belonging. Our observations highlight feelings of insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty that accompanied participants' experiences with immigration systems and processes. We contribute to the growing body of HCI scholarship on the tensions between immigration and (security) technology. In so doing, we point to future directions for participatory and collaborative design practices that centre on the lived experiences and everyday security of asylum seekers and refugees.

研究动机与目标

• Exam: Examine how asylum seekers and refugees experience UK border control technologies and immigration processes.
• Investigate: Investigate the impact of initial border encounters on long-term feelings of security and belonging in the UK.
• Highlight: Highlight the role of support structures, such as caseworkers, in navigating digitalised immigration procedures.
• Promote: Promote participatory and collaborative design approaches that center lived experiences and everyday security of migrants.

提出的方法

• Three-month participant observation at a UK-based immigrant welfare charity.
• Semi-structured interviews with six asylum seekers/refugees and six charity staff.
• Reflexive thematic analysis with three coding rounds to derive themes.
• Acknowledgement of positionality and reflexivity to account for researcher and translator roles.
• Ethical considerations including anonymisation and consent procedures tailored to vulnerable participants.

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 How do refugees and asylum seekers in the UK experience encounters with border control technologies and the wider immigration system?
• RQ2 How do these encounters shape their longer-term sense of security and belonging in the UK?

主要发现

• Border screening is experienced as hostile and confusing, with participants feeling treated as suspects by default.
• Initial border encounters shape ongoing feelings of insecurity and alienation long after arrival and despite legal status.
• Support structures, especially caseworkers, play a crucial role in navigating digitalised immigration processes.
• Technologies at the border are perceived as dehumanising and contribute to a depersonalised sense of passage into the UK.
• Participants advocate for participatory design approaches to reimagine screening processes as more humane.