juliet

I think we should take account of some of the following:

(1) The issue of whether a person is an "illegal immigrant" is not one that is recognised in UK Law. A person is either an illegal entrant (because they have entered the UK on false papers or in the back of a lorry- often a necessity) or an overstayer- they have entered the UK on one visa and allowed it to lapse. The press universally misses this; all asylum seekers are simply "illegal". welikegoats please take note.

(2) Asylum seekers are entitled to be here, pursuing applications under refugee conventions we engineered (in a fit of guilt over the plight of the Jews we denied enttry to in WWII). That right is only acknowledged retrospectively i.e when the applicant finally has leave to remain recognised.

(3) The legislation in the last 10 years has been modified to reduce the chances of an asylum seeker succeeding in his or her application. Hence the success rate on applications has fallen. It does not follow that the applicants have ceased to have a valid Convention reason.

(4) The highest numbers of applicants in the last few years have been from Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and China (welikegoats please note - many non Black therefore). This country has taken a prominent role in condemning the human rights abuses in those countries. Not surprisingly then, refugees come here. We can't morally justify bombing these countries or imposing sanctions, yet reject those fleeing the abuses that justify our actions. Yet we do. We send people back to Zimbabwe (AND Mogadishu!)

(5) The agenda on rights of persons from abroad is dominated by right wing media, who pick up on every instance of crime involving an asylum seeker as "they should never have been here". Yet did we see a "He's white and British" headline in the Express when Shipman was caught? Or Fred West? Insofar as the democratic majority supports depriving those from abroad of basic human rights, it is a manifestation of ill informed xenophobia fueled by the right wing media. You, as a local government employee (apparently) may wish to reflect.

(6) The rights to social support of those who have exhausted the rules are circumscribed by our human rights obligations. In the last six months I have had to deal with a one armed man prohibited from leaving UK (out of prison but on license), a single parent forced to leave home due to domestic violence, those with cancer and aids, all of whom have exhausted appeals at time of seeking advice. If we are not to regress to a pre Dickensian era, these must be assisted if destitute until such time as their lawful removal has taken place.

(7\ Finally, economic migrants. Over 80% of the globe's wealth is vested in the "North". Over 80% of the globe's population is in the "south". Our borders prevent freedom of movement of labour here. Yet our terms of trade grind the south into poverty and starvation. The plight of Africa is a scar upon the conscience of the world. All existing immigration law does little to redress this