Illegal migrants to face clothing and mouth searches for phones at UK ports
LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Police in Britain may ask illegal immigrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can search their mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence during their journey, the government said on Monday.
The Home Office (home ministry) said the new powers would support investigations aimed at dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel.
It was stated that gangs frequently use telephone contacts and social media to recruit immigrants for small boat crossings from France, which reached record levels this year.
The Labor government is toughening up immigration policies, above all on illegal immigration, in efforts to stem the growing popularity of the populist UK Reform Party, which is driving the immigration agenda.
The law is expected to receive “Royal Assent” in the coming days, a formality that does not require further debate.
The Home Office said officers could make migrants remove their coats, jackets or gloves to search for devices and examine mouths for hidden SIM cards or small electronics.
The government department, led by Shabana Mahmood, previously explained that mobile phone searches were only possible after the arrest of an immigrant, adding that the new powers would allow officers to gather information more quickly.
Polls show immigration has overtaken the economy as British voters’ top concern. Throughout the summer, protests took place outside hotels housing refugees at public expense.
The government’s tough stance on immigration has been criticized by some human rights groups, who argue that some policies scapegoat immigrants and fuel racism and violence.
“Using invasive forces to search the clothes – and even the inside of the mouths – of helpless and traumatized people who have survived a terrifying journey across the channel is a dystopian act of brutality,” said Sile Reynolds, Head of Refuge Advocacy for Freedom from Torture.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Alex Richardson)
