Illegal immigration in the United Kingdom

Although it is difficult to measure how many people reside in the UK without authorisation, a Home Office study based on Census 2001 data released in March 2005 estimated a population of between 310,000 and 570,000.[1]

More recently, a study carried out by a research team at LSE for the Greater London Authority estimated the undocumented migrant population of the UK by updating the Home Office study. The LSE's study takes into account other factors not included in the previous estimate, namely the continued arrival of asylum seekers, the clearance of the asylum applications backlog, further undocumented migrants entering and leaving the country, more migrants overstaying, and the regularisation of EU accession citizens.

The most significant change in this estimate is however the inclusion of children born in the UK to undocumented migrants. For the LSE team undocumented migrants oscillate between 417,000 and 863,000, including a population of UK-born children ranging between 44,000 and 144,000. Drawing on this and taking stock of the outcome of the recent Case Resolution Programme, a University of Oxford's study by Nando Sigona and Vanessa Hughes estimate at end 2011 a population of undocumented migrant children of 120,000, with over half born in the UK to parents residing without legal immigration status.

Definitions

Illegal (sometimes termed irregular) immigrants in the UK include those who have:

Political reaction

Migration Watch UK has criticised the Home Office figures for not including the UK-born dependent children of unauthorised migrants. They suggest the Home Office has underestimated the numbers of unauthorised migrants by between 15,000 and 85,000.[5]

Jack Dromey, Deputy General of the Transport and General Workers Union and Labour Party treasurer, suggested in May 2006 that there could be around 500,000 illegal workers. He called for a public debate on whether an amnesty should be considered.[6] David Blunkett has suggested that this might be done once the identity card scheme is rolled out.[7]

London Citizens, a coalition of community organisations, is running a regularisation campaign called Strangers into Citizens, backed by figures including the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.[8] Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research suggested that an amnesty would net the government up to £1.038 billion per year in fiscal revenue.[9] However, analysis by MigrationWatch UK suggests that if the migrants granted amnesty were given access to healthcare and other benefits, the net cost to the exchequer would be £5.530 billion annually.[10]

It has since been suggested that to deport all of the irregular migrants from the UK would take 20 years and cost up to £12 billion.[11] Current Mayor of London Boris Johnson has commissioned a study into a possible amnesty for illegal immigrants, citing larger tax gains within the London area which is considered to be home to the majority of the country's population of such immigrants.[12]

In February 2008, the government introduced new £10,000 fines for employers found to be employing illegal immigrants where there is negligence on the part of the employer, with unlimited fines or jail sentences for employers acting knowingly.[13]

In July 2013, the Home Office introduced an advertising lorry in London with its billboard saying "In the UK illegally? — GO HOME OR FACE ARREST — Text HOME to 78070 for free advice, and help with travel documents. We can help you return home voluntarily without fear of arrest or detention." This campaign was criticised from various quarters: Vince Cable, a prominent minister in the governing coalition, called it "stupid and offensive";[14] some on the left said that "go home" evoked an old National Front slogan.[15] Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party criticised the campaign as "nasty" and suggested that its real message was "Please don’t vote UKIP, we’re doing something".[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The thorny issue of illegal migrants BBC News, 17 May 2006 The methods used are also much debatedhttp://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/irregular-migration-uk-definitions-pathways-and-scale. Problems arise in particular from the very nature of the target population that is hidden and mostly wants to remain as suchttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8676.2011.00191.x/references;jsessionid=D55A99859E2D8DB93182491C55168A04.d01t02?globalMessage=0. The different definitions of ‘illegality’ adopted in the studies also pose a significant challenge to the comparability of the data.
  2. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/woman-with-iq-of-49-was-targeted-for-sham-marriage-8980291.html
  3. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sham-marriage-gang-jailed
  4. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/couple-jailed-over-south-london-sham-marriage
  5. ↑ The illegal Migrant Population in the UK Migration Watch UK, Briefing paper 9.15,Migration Trends.
  6. ↑ Amnesty call over illegal workers BBC News, 20 May 2006.
  7. ↑ Blunkett: Immigration amnesty on cards epolitix.com, 14 June 2006
  8. ↑ Joe Boyle, Migrants find a voice in the rain, BBC News, 7 May 2007, accessed 21 May 2007
  9. ↑ "Jacqui Smith should back amnesty for illegal workers". Institute for Public Policy Research. 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  10. ↑ "The true cost of an amnesty for illegal immigrants". MigrationWatch UK. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  11. ↑ "Tighter immigration controls could enable an amnesty for illegal immigrants say IPPR". Institute for Public Policy Research. 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  12. ↑ "Johnson ponders immigrant amnesty". BBC News. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  13. ↑ Richard Ford (2008-02-29). "£10,000 fines for employing illegal migrant without check". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  14. ↑ "Vince Cable attacks crackdown on illegal immigrants as 'stupid and offensive'". Metro. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Hundal, Sunny. Liberal Conspiracy http://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/07/23/by-urging-immigrants-to-go-home-the-govt-is-legitimising-a-national-front-slogan/. Retrieved 7 August 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ Dominiczak, Peter (2013-07-25). "Nigel Farage attacks 'Big Brother' Government immigration campaign". Telegraph (London). Retrieved 7 August 2013.