UK readies live facial recognition for immigration crackdown

The UK Home Office is preparing to deploy live facial recognition cameras at transport hubs and public events to identify visa overstayers and people subject to removal orders, according to policy documents reported by the Guardian.

The project has "now moved into the formal delivery phase," following three trials run at Holyhead port in north Wales between November 2025 and February 2026. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has doubled the immigration enforcement budget and increased the workforce by 60% to enable "tens of thousands" more raids, arrests and deportations. People under 18 will not be placed on watchlists.

Griff Ferris, spokesperson for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said immigration enforcement already employed tactics that "persecute and terrorise migrant communities," and called the plan a "racist mass surveillance tool in public places." Sarah Lasoye of the Open Rights Group said the department appeared to be expanding the technology "without sufficient scrutiny, transparency or public consent."

William Webster, the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, told Liberty Investigates that he had not been consulted on the policy and that the use of live facial recognition for immigration purposes "falls outside of his remit." A Home Office spokesperson said the department was "considering further trials" and "actively exploring the potential benefits, implications, and future use of the technology."