There can be no migrant justice while racist, violent and imperialist borders remain intact.
That’s why we are proud to announce that we have joined the Abolish Frontex campaign. Alongside our European friends and allies, we are calling for Frontex to be dismantled.
Frontex is the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. It supports European Member States and Schengen-associated countries in enforcing the EU’s external borders and plays a leading role in deportations and violence against migrants. The Agency runs border control operations throughout the Mediterranean Sea and Balkan countries. Border guards and assets deployed by Frontex have reportedly, repeatedly, been directly and indirectly involved in illegal pushbacks, and are complicit in violence against migrants. Frontex is a potent example of border externalisation grown by over 7560% since 2005, with €5.6 billion being reserved for the agency from 2021-2027. Frontex has been recruiting an army of border guards who can own and use handguns, and aims to have 10,000 guards by 2027.
Criticism of Frontex is widespread and their violent methods are well-documented – from human rights abuses, cover-ups and illegal pushbacks. Despite this, the UK Government announced in February 2024 that Frontex and the Home Office signed a working arrangement for close cooperation in “border management and security.” This arrangement will see the UK Border Force be trained in Frontex tactics, collaborate on the development of border technology (including expanding on drone deployment and airborne surveillance) and share “best practice” on returns and “border management”.
Not only does this arrangement exemplify how both the UK and Europe see migrants through the dehumanising and White supremacist lens of merely a problem to be ‘managed’, but it also signifies a terrifying move towards an increasingly violent border regime. One which will explicitly harm racialised people.
At MRN, we are moving to become an abolitionist campaigning charity. So, that’s why we refuse to be complicit and allow Frontex to continue to operate. Nor Frontex nor the EU’s border policies are separate from the UK context. Violent and militarised border regimes are interconnected. They must be abolished.
If you are interested in learning more about Frontex or the Abolish Frontex campaign, check out their website.
Check out some of our other work on borders and abolition: