The Home Office of the British government may require illegal migrants arriving via the English Channel in small boats to wear electronic tags as immigration detention centers run out of space.
According to the recent figures from the Home Office, the surge in the asylum backlog surpassed 175,000 for the first time. The backlog has grown by 44 percent over the past year, driven largely by migrants arriving via the English Channel and filing asylum claims upon arrival.
As a response to the growing issue of illegal migrants, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led the "Stop the Boats" over a year ago. It was passed under the Illegal Migration Act to grant authorities the power to detain migrants who arrive in the U.K. illegally for at least 28 days before deporting them to a designated safe third country, such as Rwanda or their home nation.
However, the existing facilities have limited capacity. So, the government now focuses on the expansion of electronic tagging to alleviate the migrant accommodation crisis.
Under this plan, migrants are required to wear electronic tags that enable real-time GPS tracking and prevent unauthorized absconding due to a surge in illegal crossings and limited capacity in immigration detention centers and asylum accommodations. They would need to report to immigration officers several times a day, either through text messages or in person.
Moreover, those who attempt to tamper with or remove the electronic tags would face automatic withdrawal of any rights to bail or remain in the United Kingdom.
The Home Office has been experimenting with GPS tagging since June 2022. As part of the proposal, the government has signed a £6 million ($7.55 million) contract for a tracking system using smartwatches with facial recognition technology. This new system requires people to have facial scans up to five times daily.
GPS tagging of illegal migrants labeled as "punitive" and "draconian"
The ministers of the U.K. government were only forced to find alternative ways due to a potential accommodation crisis caused by the surge in illegal crossings and the limited capacity in immigration detention centers and asylum accommodations.
However, left-wing campaigners have still labeled the idea as "punitive" and "draconian." They argue that such extensive use of electronic tagging dehumanizes vulnerable people seeking safety.
"This is treating people as mere objects rather than vulnerable men, women and children in search of safety who should always be treated with compassion and humanity in the same way we welcomed Ukrainian refugees. This is not who we are as a country nor the Britain we aspire to be," Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, stated.
Post a Comment