The Home Office is preparing to deploy facial recognition cameras at transport hubs and public events as part of what documents describe as the biggest immigration enforcement crackdown in British history, according to The Guardian. Policy documents show the government has been developing a programme to use live facial recognition for “general immigration enforcement”, including non-criminal immigration offences.
The technology would identify people “seeking to re-enter the UK unlawfully”, target those subject to removal action and address broader “immigration-related criminality”. The Home Office says the cameras would locate undocumented people so their cases can be resolved, reducing “disruption to the wider public compared to repeated enforcement visits at residential addresses or workplaces”.
The documents suggest people could be placed on watchlists for overstaying a visa without permission or entering without leave, which are civil rather than criminal matters. The plans appear in guidance for immigration enforcement officials published on 8 October and in a data protection impact assessment made public later in the month. They follow Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s decision to double the enforcement budget and increase its workforce by 60% to allow “tens of thousands” more raids, arrests and deportations.
Three trials of the technology were conducted at Holyhead port in north Wales between November last year and February. Deployment locations have been expanded to include “proactive” use at transport hubs and at “specific” events expected to increase footfall. A spokesperson said the department was “considering further trials” and “actively exploring the potential benefits, implications and future use of the technology”.