New Clause 9 - Information: embarking passengers
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
2:30 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
New clause 9 brings the powers of examination at embarkation control under paragraph 3 of schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 in line with the powers of examination on arrival under paragraph 2 of schedule 2. The new clause provides for an immigration officer to examine a departing passenger for the purpose of establishing his identity and immigration status and, if that is not clear from the initial examination, to detain and subject the person to further examination until he can satisfactorily establish his identity and/or immigration status. Detention is permitted for a period of not more than 12 hours.
The immigration service and other services at our ports must have a passing interest in those who are leaving the country as well as an interest in those coming into it. Interesting things have been discovered in the context of the embarkation controls that have been restored to varying degrees since 7 and 21 July, but there is a lack of clarity, if not an absence of power, for our immigration services and others at ports to take details and, if necessary, to detain for up to 12 hours those leaving the country in order to ascertain their details. It must make sense for those services so to do in this day and age.
The improvements to immigration officers’ powers to examine departing passengers in new clause 9 are complemented by provisions in new clause 10. It amends section 141 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which provides for the taking and storage of fingerprints. It amends section 141(7)(d) to enable fingerprints to be taken from a person who has been detained under schedule 2 powers and to be stored. The new clause is necessary because many people are detained, particularly at ports, without being arrested.
In particular, new clause 10, in conjunction with new clause 9, will permit fingerprints to be taken from an embarking passenger who has been arrested or detained pending further examination at an exit control. A key component of establishing identity is the provision of a biometric. The immigration fingerprint bureau contains a store of fingerprints against which persons of doubtful identity could be checked before departure from the UK. This is a valuable tool to reconcile immigration records and minimise fraud before the e-borders programme is implemented. It will also help to provide intelligence to prevent people from returning to the UK with false identities.
In addition to the fingerprinting provisions of section 141 that new clause 10 amends, section 144 enables the Secretary of State to make equivalent provision in relation to other external physical characteristics—in particular, features of the iris or other parts of the eye. The ability to use the most effective biometric technology as it develops is an important tool in combating immigration offenders and identity thieves—those who are detected on arrival in and those who are detected on departure from the UK.
New clause 10 also amends section 141 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to enable detention custody officers in immigration short-term holding facilities to take fingerprints from immigration detainees. I remind hon. Members that those facilities are now covered by the inspectorate as per clause 39.