Campaigners from Liberty and JCWI have warned that a clause smuggled into the Government’s new data protection law would create a two-tier, racially discriminatory data protection regime and undermine millions of people’s privacy rights. The widespread sharing of personal data collected by frontline agencies with the Home Office is the cornerstone of the hostile environment and this Bill proposes to remove data protection rights from people whose data is processed for “the maintenance of effective immigration control” or “the investigation or detection of activities that would interfere with effective immigration control”. If passed, this clause would strip migrants of the right to have their personal information processed lawfully, fairly and transparently when it is being processed for immigration control purposes, regardless of their immigration status. You can read more about the changes from Liberty and JCWI and in their briefing to Peers.