Police can now remove coats and conduct mouth searches on illegal migrants

Highlights

• Police can now require migrants to remove coats and undergo mouth searches for devices.
• Government aims to dismantle criminal gangs behind record Channel crossings.
• Rights groups condemn measures as "dystopian act of brutality" against traumatised people.

The Home Office said the new powers would support investigations aimed at dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel, which have reached record levels this year.

Officers can make migrants remove coats, jackets, or gloves to search for devices and may inspect mouths for concealed SIM cards or small electronics. The measures are designed to gather intelligence on migrants' journeys and the smuggling networks facilitating them.

The government explained that criminal gangs frequently use phone contacts and social media to recruit migrants for small-boat crossings from France. Previously, mobile phone searches were only possible after a migrant's arrest, but the new powers will allow officers to collect information faster.

Backlash from advocates

The law is expected to receive Royal Assent in the coming days and reflects the Labour government's hardening stance on immigration, particularly illegal immigration.

The tougher approach comes as the government attempts to counter the soaring popularity of the populist Reform UK party, which has driven the immigration agenda. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood's department emphasised that the powers would strengthen efforts to combat people-smuggling operations.

However, the measures have drawn sharp criticism from rights groups. Sile Reynolds, Head of Asylum Advocacy at Freedom from Torture, condemned the policy, stating "Using invasive powers to search through the clothing - and even inside the mouths - of desperate and traumatised people when they have just survived a terrifying journey across the Channel is a dystopian act of brutality."

Rights organisations argue that such policies scapegoat migrants and fuel racism and violence. Over the summer, protests took place outside hotels housing asylum seekers at public expense.

Polls suggest immigration has overtaken the economy as British voters' top concern, placing pressure on the government to demonstrate action on the issue.