Technology and data are increasingly used for immigration enforcement, putting migrants’ fate in the hands of systems driven by data processing and algorithmic decision making.

As the UK plans a future of dynamic risk assessments for visa applicants, the collection of biographic and biometric data and automated data sharing, we explore the degree to which privacy and data protection laws can defend migrants against abuses of their data and seek redress when their rights are denied.

In 2019, the UK Department for Work and Pensions published their two-part staff guide on conducting fraud investigations. Privacy International went through the 995 pages to understand how those investigations happen and how the DWP is surveilling benefits claimants suspected of fraud.

Following the publication of their investigation guide, we asked the DWP how the people they investigate get flagged. The answer? By an algorithm.