US EditionFirst migrants arrive in UK this year after small boat incident
New legal powers allow officers to seize and extract data from migrants’ phones at processing centers to combat people smuggling and aid investigations, Home Office says.
- On Monday, migrants arrived in the UK for the first time this year after crossing the English Channel, with pictures showing officials using a stretcher in Dover amid Met Office warnings.
- On Monday, new powers to seize phones and SIMs took effect to gather intelligence and target people smugglers after the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act became law in December.
- At Manston processing centre, officers can take electronic devices without arrest, search for hidden SIM cards, and use Home Office technology to download data on site.
- Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said the change creates extra tools to target smugglers, but shadow home secretary Chris Philp cautioned it may help only at the margins, while Freedom From Torture called the searches profoundly inhumane.
- Home Office figures show 41,472 migrants arrived in 2025, the second-highest on record, 13% higher than 2024 and 41% above 2023, last year’s first arrivals on January 4.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Unwelcome: UK’s First ‘Small Boat’ Migrant Arrivals of 2026
The first migrant group of 2026 reached UK shores on Monday, January 5th after crossing the English Channel in sub-zero temperatures. Dozens made the journey despite freezing conditions—ranging from temperatures in Calais dropping to -1°C, to Dover recording lows of -3°C, feeling even colder due to wind chill. Several individuals were treated in French hospitals for hypothermia. The arrivals come just days after it was revealed that 41,427 peopl…
The United Kingdom is stepping up its migration control policy: from Monday, 5 January, illegal migrants arriving on British soil after crossing the English Channel will be able to have their mobile phones confiscated, without the need for law enforcement to carry out an arrest.This new measure is part of a broader strategy to combat criminal networks of smugglers, particularly involved in migrant smuggling and drug trafficking.
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