We’re holding the Hostile Office to account.
Migrants’ Rights Network is researching how drones, surveillance aircraft and AI towers are used on people crossing the Channel.
We know it is used to help prosecute people.
We do not know how far it goes.
We cannot do this alone. Help us expose border surveillance by making a Subject Access Request.
We are looking to support people who crossed the Channel in a small boat (2018), by working with lawyers to find out what data is held about them, through a Subject Access Request (SAR): a legal right to ask for copies of the data an organisation holds about you
MRN will support you through this process.
Registering interest is not a commitment.
- Share the details of your crossing with us
- We explain the process
- You decide from there
- You can submit a SAR with our support
The project is funded by the Baring Foundation.
Everything shared with us is confidential and stored securely.
Further Information
Information in 11 Languages
Our poster image for this project is available here in the following languages:
– Amharic
– Arabic
– Dari
– English
– Farsi
– French
– Kurdish Kurmanji
– Kurdish Sorani
– Pashto
– Somali
– Spanish
– Tigrinya
Why is this important?
Through our Bordering Surveillance: Challenging the Criminalisation of Racialised Migrants project, the Migrants’ Rights Network is researching how the UK Government, and private companies use surveillance technologies – drones, manned aircraft, and AI-driven coastal towers – to detect, track, and sometimes provide evidence used to take people who crossed the English Channel in so called “small boats” to court.
Our aim is to challenge tools and practices that contribute to the criminalisation of people seeking asylum and other migrants.
How will this benefit me?
If you take part you may benefit in several ways:
- Find out exactly what personal data an organisation holds about you.
- Contribute to our challenge of potentially unlawful uses of surveillance, bringing legal claims under the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR, and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
- Increase transparency and accountability, which can help change policy and reduce the risk of future criminalisation.
Supporting Details
- Using Freedom of Information requests to analyse contracts, policies and data-sharing agreements;
- Reviewing the Data Protection Impact Assessments associated with this surveillance;
- Attending relevant court hearings to directly witness what is being used as evidence to prosecute illegalised asylum seekers.
More information on a Subject Access Request
A SAR asks an organisation – for example the Home Office, Border Force, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, or a contractor – to give you copies of the personal data they hold about you. SARs can reveal images, video, timestamps, location data, AI outputs and documents that mention you.
Organisations must normally respond within one month, with limited statutory extensions for complex requests. If a request is refused, the organisation must explain which legal exemption it is relying on and why.
With your permission, the Migrants’ Rights Network can help you make a SAR or apply on your behalf. People seeking asylum will usually need to provide some form of identification and signed authorisation for representatives or caseworkers to make an application for them.
Get in touch
If you would like more information, contact Samuel Storey by email. Any communications will be treated in strict confidence.
Email: [email protected]