ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part examines a form of biometric border control that is not only located within the individual body but also simultaneously shared with, and invisibly linked to, other bodies located in different countries. It shows how the biometric border that controls family reunification extends far beyond the actual physical sites and temporal moments of border crossing, with far-reaching ramifications for the refugees and their families. For the Somali refugees, however, the introduction of biometric technology to distinguish biologically related from non-biologically related nuclear families had mixed effects. The part discusses the disparate logics of family and kinship as either biologically fixed or socially generated that became apparent with biometric testing, as well as how they reflected the refugees’ situations in Denmark and further shaped their experiences of settling into a new society.
