Children arriving in the UK by small boats may face invasive searches under new rules implemented by the Home Office. Immigration enforcement officials are now authorized to check for mobile phone SIM cards hidden in the mouths of new arrivals, including minors. This measure is part of a broader effort to gather intelligence on people-smugglers.
Under these regulations, officials can seize mobile devices at the border if they suspect these contain valuable information regarding trafficking operations. Officers will also have the authority to require new arrivals to remove outer garments such as coats and gloves for searches.
Concerns have been raised by various charities and advocacy groups about the implications of these searches. A Syrian refugee, who declined to be named, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the searches, stating, “I never heard of any asylum seeker hiding a SIM card in their mouth.” The refugee noted that during their own crossing, smugglers advised them to delete all data from their phones.
Maddie Harris, a representative from the Humans for Rights Network, which offers support to young asylum seekers, criticized the new rules. She stated, “People should be treated with dignity and respect, not as criminals subject to invasive searches and interrogatory questioning violating their privacy.” Harris emphasized that many of those arriving by small boats, particularly children, are likely to be traumatized by their experiences and should receive support rather than being treated as security threats.
The Home Office maintains that these searches are essential for collecting intelligence on the journeys of asylum seekers and for apprehending individuals involved in smuggling activities. Officials clarified that immigration, police, and National Crime Agency (NCA) officers will have the capacity to search migrants for phones at border points without needing to arrest them.
In addition, the NCA and police will implement new serious crime prevention orders that could restrict suspects from using phones, laptops, and accessing social media. This approach is part of the border security, asylum, and immigration bill, which is anticipated to receive royal assent this week.
The Home Office faced legal challenges in 2022 after a high court found that it had unlawfully implemented a blanket policy to confiscate phones from small boat arrivals. At that time, officials claimed these confiscations aimed to gather intelligence on smugglers.
Alex Norris, the minister for border security and asylum, highlighted the necessity of these measures. He stated, “Organised criminal networks rely on phone contacts and social media to recruit migrants for Channel crossings. These new powers will allow law enforcement to seize illegal migrants’ phones before an arrest so we can gather intelligence and shut down these vile smuggling gangs before they attempt to risk more lives in these dangerous journeys.”
Critics of the new policy, including Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at Freedom from Torture, have condemned the invasive nature of the searches. Reynolds described these actions as “a dystopian act of brutality,” arguing that they risk treating all refugees as security threats. She added, “Such blatant disregard for the universal human right to privacy is outrageous.”
As discussions around immigration policy in the UK continue, the implementation of these searches may further complicate the already contentious dialogue surrounding asylum seekers and border security.
