The UK government introduced legislation Thursday designed to give law enforcement officials "counter-terror style powers" to break up gangs bringing irregular migrants across the Channel in flimsy boats.
The dangerous crossings are a major and emotional political issue in Britain, with illegal migration contributing towards a rise in support for the hard-right Reform UK party.
Labour's new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill would allow law enforcement agencies to impose interim orders on suspected people smugglers before they are criminally charged.
It could see them banned from using laptops or mobile phones, accessing social media networks, associating with certain people or accessing their finances under the orders.
"This bill will equip our law enforcement agencies with the powers they need to stop these vile criminals, disrupting their supply chains and bringing more of those who profit from human misery to justice," said interior minister Yvette Cooper.
The legislation will make it illegal to handle items suspected for use in an illegal crossing, such as small boat parts, Cooper's Home Office added, with the crime carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The bill would also let immigration officers and police seize mobile phones and laptops before arrests are made, including from migrants who have just arrived at the border.
Additionally, it will permit law enforcement to arrest suspected smugglers before the crossing has taken place, "a much earlier stage than is currently possible", the Home Office said in a statement.
Other measures include creating a new offence of collecting information to be used by gangs for a crossing, and of endangering another life at sea, such as by preventing rescue efforts.
Both offences would carry a prison sentence of up to five years under the legislation, which is expected to become law by the end of the year.
Last year saw 36,816 people detected crossing the world's busiest shipping lane to southeast England, a 25 percent increase on 2023 and the second-highest annual total ever recorded.
The journeys -- often in overloaded, poorly maintained inflatable vessels that are ill suited to open seas -- began on a large scale in 2018.
The crossings featured heavily in last July's general election, which saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour party end 14 consecutive years of Conservative rule.
The vote also saw Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage's Reform UK party make huge gains.
The new legislation will also formally repeal the previous Tory government's controversial plan to send irregular migrants to Rwanda.
