Migration lawyers call for safeguards on automated handling of data

Around the world, artificial intelligence and Automated Decision-Making (ADM) tools are playing increasingly significant roles in handling immigration and homeland security data.

Migration experts in Australia weighing up the opportunities and risks of such technologies warn that more transparency, monitoring and regulation are required to oversee the use of these tools.

“With many governments deploying these tools, we have seen the integration of these technologies into many sectors, which has dramatically reshaped the landscape of immigration enforcement. This leads to the need for responsible use and regulation,” says Flinders University Associate Professor Sanzhuan Guo, one of the legal experts in a new journal article published in the Griffith Law Review. 

The article argues that while ADM systems can enhance the efficiency of immigration enforcement, including facilitating the deportation process, they also raise new challenges.

“A key issue is the lack of transparency, which not only presents significant legal risks but also exposes these systems to potential political manipulation,” the authors warn.

The article addresses the legal and technological hurdles associated with the use of ADM systems by immigration departments, particularly in deportation processes, within the broader context of responsible ADM use and regulation.

The experts propose a coherent framework be built so these concerns can be addressed with responsible regulatory measures.

Corresponding author Associate Professor Guo, a visiting research fellow at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, says the integration of ADM tools into public decision-making is still in its early stages, and governments and agencies continue to wrestle with some fundamental questions about regulation and other issues. 

“So now is the time to lay a strong regulatory foundation and to use foresight to understand which legal rules should persist and which must evolve with ADM advancements.”

Adaptable regulatory measures, including government policy and industry self-regulation, will be necessary to evolve with changing technologies.

Professor Guo, with coauthors Dr Tim McFarland, an international law and Australian immigration solicitor, and Dr George Yijun Tian, a senior lecturer from University of Technology Sydney Law Faculty, say the article was not focused on country-specific issues but rather on the broader intersection of law, technology, and human impact.

The paper references case studies from Australia, the US, and the EU with analysis and recommendations relevant on a global scale.

“Therefore, creating a regulatory framework that balances adaptability with the protection of fundamental principles is essential for the responsible integration of ADM technologies worldwide,” they conclude.

Footnote: Professor Guo and Flinders University Professor Criminology Marinela Marmo joined international colleagues as panellists at a public event organised by the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program this month (link: https://hls.harvard.edu/events/deportation-law-and-practice-a-global-perspective/).

The article, Automated decision making and deportation: legal concerns and regulation (2025) by George Yijun Tian (University of Technology Sydney), Tim McFarland and Sanzhuan Guo has been published in the Griffith Law Review DOI: 10. 1080/10383441.2025.2477946.