The UK Government is turning to text as part of its drive to clamp down on illegal immigrants. Starting from April, it plans to send out text messages to illegal immigrants, reminding them not to outstay their visas.
Home Secretary John Reid says the idea would make life “uncomfortable and constrained” for illegal immigrants, and the plan, part of a wider policy of identifying illegal entrants to the country, has also been welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers. Others, however, are not so sure. The idea has been criticised by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, and by the opposition parties, with Shadow Home Secretary David Davis accusing the government of giving up on trying to deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, and instead, choosing to “spam them with text messages”.