UK police and immigration officers will seize phones and SIM cards from migrants arriving by small boats under new border security powers
UK authorities will begin seizing mobile phones and SIM cards from migrants arriving by small boats from northern France starting Monday, as part of a tougher border security strategy aimed at dismantling people-smuggling networks operating across the English Channel.
The new enforcement measures will be implemented at the Manston processing centre near Ramsgate in southeast England, where police and immigration officers will confiscate devices from newly arrived migrants. The seizures can be carried out without an arrest under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which was passed by Parliament last year.
Officials say the powers are designed to help authorities access critical intelligence, including contact lists, location data and digital communications, to identify and prosecute organisers of illegal crossings.
The policy forms a central part of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to curb irregular migration and respond to mounting public concern over border control, amid growing support for the anti-immigration Reform UK party led by Brexit figure Nigel Farage.
More than 41,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year, marking the second-highest annual total since records began in 2018, according to official figures.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris said the measures are essential to disrupting criminal supply chains behind the crossings.
“We promised to restore order and control to our borders which means taking on the people smuggling networks behind this deadly trade,” Norris said. “That is exactly why we are implementing robust new laws with powerful offences to intercept, disrupt and dismantle these vile gangs faster than ever before and cut off their supply chains.”
However, the policy has drawn criticism from migrant rights organisations, who argue it undermines the rights of asylum seekers. Refugee Action condemned the move when the legislation received final approval, describing it as “anti-refugee.”
“This new law is anti-refugee. It’s another attack on rights, and further criminalises people seeking safety,” the group said.
The opposition Conservative Party has also criticised the government’s approach, though from a different perspective. Its home affairs spokesperson, Chris Philp, dismissed the measures as “cosmetic tweaks” and urged the government to take tougher action, including withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Beyond phone seizures, the new law introduces additional criminal offences, including the storage or supply of boat engines intended for migrant crossings, which could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.
UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has previously outlined broader reforms aimed at deterring irregular migration. In November, she announced proposals to make refugee status temporary, subject to review every 30 months, and to extend the waiting period for permanent residency beyond the current five years. Depending on individual circumstances, migrants could face waits of between 10 and 30 years.
Mahmood described the reforms — modelled on Denmark’s restrictive asylum framework — as “the most significant changes to our asylum system in modern times.”
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