Enforcement Powers Section 14 : Immigration officer: power of arrest
66.Section 14 provides immigration officers with the power of arrest – and ancillary powers of entry, search and seizure – in respect of a number of specified offences. Their powers of arrest are currently restricted to offences under the Immigration Acts. The new power is only to be available where an immigration officer forms a reasonable suspicion that one of the specified offences has been committed in the course of exercising a function under the Immigration Acts. In other words, immigration officers must uncover the evidence of the offences in the course of their usual duties investigating immigration matters. The offences are specified in subsection (2).
67.Subsection (3) provides that certain powers of entry, search and seizure which immigration officers already have in relation to offences under the Immigration Act 1971, shall also apply in relation to the specified offences.