In a world haunted by the worst case scenario, today the mobility of individuals is less often perceived as an opportunity, an effect of the global market, or an outcome of human suffering. On the contrary, mobility is increasingly associated with images of risk and threat, which justify a diffraction of practices of control and surveillance of individuals in transit. The strategies renew and reinforce the fight against terrorism since the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the context of the “war on terror” have had major consequences for practice. Security is viewed in the pretence of protection and prevention and surveillance and control become central in this costly quest for “zero risk”. This article presents how the surveillance of populations’ movements has intensified. It also aims to show how this increased control reinforces the anxiety, suspicion and hostility at the heart of our Western societies.