Joseph Hanimann on DNA testing for immigrants

Joseph Hanimann observes the French debate about Immigration Minister Brice Hortfeux's proposal to allow would-be immigrants seeking to join their relatives in France to do so only after undergoing DNA testing. Critics point out that the family circle extends beyond direct blood relatives. Hanimann comments: "This bio-political perspective in the DNA testing debate reveals a tendency within authority-shy democracy to dress up political decisions in scientific clothing. Who can come? Ask the laboratory assistants. Against the background of the BioDev II project (Biometric Data Experimented in Visas) and the resulting network of databanks in eight countries, this reinforces a view that is moving further and further away from the modern idea of man as an autonomous subject."

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