ICE in the UK - Inheriting the Dystopia

In light of the public murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the death of four detainees in ICE custody so far this year, US citizens are protesting across the country over flagrant abuses of power. It is not surprising that in the midst of this outrage, the subtle militarisation and ‘ICE-style’ marketing of immigration forces here in the UK has gone unnoticed by most.

In October, the Conservatives pledged to create a new “Removals Force”, directly modelled on ICE and tasked with deporting 150,000 people a year, if elected. Tory plans would see this organisation given £1.6bn in funding and sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition to spot migrants without warning. In justifying this model, the Conservatives have said ICE has provided a “successful approach” in removing illegal immigrants in the US. In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody, making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades. Lauding the agency’s supposed achievements at this time is woefully offensive, but as the UK’s two leading parties have uncompromisingly defined the latest electoral battlefield around immigration, it seems nothing is below the belt. 

Comments from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a recent interview, suggesting that her vision for her role is to “achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his panopticon”, also read like satire. The Panopticon was created as a model for the perfect prison, a circular layout where guards could observe prisoners at all times. Mahmood has suggested she wishes to extend this concept to wider society, so “that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times.” This bizarre policy, which embraces an attack on all widely accepted freedoms and liberties, leads any reasonable reader to wonder who exactly the government’s target audience is. Given that support for digital ID cards fell from 35% to -14% in October when Starmer announced their potential rollout, the Labour government will need nothing short of a miracle to generate anywhere near enough public support to justify such an intrusive and oppressive project. Additionally, the current scandal of Musk’s Grok being used to virtually undress women and at times children means public trust in AI is hardly at a high.

The marketing of Labour’s latest immigration strategy is even more insidious. A Tiktok account, identifying itself as an Official UK Home Office account, has gained over 25,000 followers since its first post on the 13^th January this year. The account, called Secure Borders UK, posts edited clips of the UK Border Force apprehending, detaining and deporting alleged illegal immigrants. Many users have called out the accounts’ clear similarity to imagery posted by ICE and are appalled by its’ open cruelty. Incursions and assaults on freedom in the service of anti-immigration policy has never been as socially acceptable in the UK as in the US, but this account is clearly attempting to bridge the gap through appealing to young people. The posts are intended to capitalise on algorithms using trending audios and captions, even going as far to jump on the “Ins and Outs for 2026” trend (a surge in illegal working checks is ‘in’, apparently). Beyond the immediate dystopia, the account also dangerously fuels the rise in anti-immigrant racism in the UK through vague imagery depicting queues of racially ambiguous, unidentifiable detainees. 

The account also deliberately confuses legal terms, interchanging ‘asylum seeker’ and ‘illegal immigrant’ frequently. It is important to note that seeking asylum is not illegal in the UK; under the 1951 Refugee Convention, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country and can remain there until authorities have assessed their claim. Disputes arise over the ways in which asylum seekers travel to the UK, since no legal pathways are currently available. Additionally, people who seek asylum are specifically at risk in their countries of origin. A confusion of these terms stokes hatred and misinformation, and the government should be condemned for this lack of clarity on an official account.

It has often been said that the UK absorbs cultural products and trends a few years after their popularity in the US. Though the security environment is undoubtedly shifting in both countries, no amount of marketing is going to have citizens of the UK awaiting widespread surveillance with open arms, nor an ICE-style agency that operates with impunity. Once again, the government must be urged to change tack and focus on policies that are productive rather than divisive.

Image: Flickr/No 10 Downing Street (Simon Dawson)

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