UK MAY ALLOW DETENTION, INTERROGATION OF NEW REFUGEE ARRIVALS

Thu 03 February 2022:

The UK government’s proposed Nationality and Borders Bill is set to extend the controversial Schedule 7 measures to apply to refugees and migrants who arrive in the country through irregular sea routes.

Under the 2000 Terrorism Act, police and border officials are allowed to detain and interrogate anyone arriving at British ports and airports who are suspected of being involved in, or affiliated with terrorist activities.

The powers given to border security are often highly intrusive and unethical, consisting of gaining access to passwords and logins for electronic devices and social media accounts – all of which could then be downloaded and kept.

Biometric data, such as fingerprints and DNA samples can also be collected, and the detained subject can be obligated to undergo strip searches including “visual examinations of the genital and anal areas”. Even periods of detention and interrogation can legally be up to six hours.

Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act has been strongly criticised by human rights groups and activists over the years, especially due to the fact that those powers have been used disproportionately against Muslims and those from ethnic minorities, despite there often being no valid reason for suspicion.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that the measures under Schedule 7 had been used in ways which lacked sufficient legal safeguards and violated human rights.

If the Terrorism Act is amended to extend Schedule 7 to apply to refugees and migrants who cross the English Channel, it would exacerbate the controversy which already surrounds the Nationality and Borders Bill which was proposed towards the end of last year and is being considered by Parliament.

According to the London-based news outlet, Middle East Eye, which reported the proposed change, a Home Office spokesperson told it that “Migrants can already be searched under Schedule 7 powers upon arrival in the UK. Through the New Plan for Immigration we are extending where these searches – which can only be conducted by specially trained police officers – can take place.”

The spokesperson added that the searches “are completely separate from the seizure of mobile phones and will not be used on all arrivals.”

Many already criticise the proposed bill for including discriminatory legislation such as confiscating the phones of asylum seekers who cross the Channel, criminalising those who make it to shore, pushing back migrant boats, and revoking the citizenship of British nationals who are suspected of posing a threat without any warning.

The bill, which contains vague language, to allow British authorities to wield sweeping new powers, has been condemned as “unconstitutional” by expert immigration lawyers, and has also proven unpopular with many in Parliament.

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