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British
National
Party
UK Immigration News Bulletin w/c August 27th, 2007
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1. THE FAILED MIGRANTS TOLD IT’S
THEIR RIGHT TO STAY
This is an amnesty by stealth which gives the wrong message
that crime does pay and breaking the law is acceptable. The
hard working British taxpayers will pay a high price given
that those refugees will have priority in getting benefits
and council houses. Another example of discrimination against
native Britons.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=477157&in_page_id=1770
Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers are set to be granted
an 'amnesty' to stay in Britain - on human rights grounds.
Councils have been warned they must take over responsibility
for the migrants, who will immediately be entitled to benefits
and a place at the front of the housing queue. The "amnesty"
comes as officials deal with 450,000 "legacy" cases
which were lost for years in the shambolic asylum system.
Many are migrants whose initial applications failed and who
should have been deported years ago. Others never had their
claims considered. Officials say the first 7,000 cases will
be handled by the end of the year and seven out of ten, or
4,900, are expected to be given "indefinite leave to
remain". They are all families, many with children born
in the UK. Because Government bungling has let them stay here
for years, the Human Rights Act saves them from being removed
as it would infringe their right to a family life. The families
are all living in Government funded housing for asylum seekers.
Once they are allowed to stay, however, they will have to
move out. Technically homeless, they will become the top priority
for council housing. Normally, only one in ten asylum claims
is approved initially. If the 70 per cent approval rate applies
to all the cases due to be completed over the next four years,
315,000 will be allowed to stay - the equivalent of a city
the size of Cardiff. The figure would represent ten years
of asylum approvals under normal rules. Last year 31,220 applications
were granted. Those who win their cases will be able to live
and work freely in the UK and claim benefits and housing.
Local council tax payers will have to pick up part of the
bill. Last night Shadow Home Secretary David Davis called
the policy a "stealth amnesty" and branded it short-sighted,
reckless and utterly irresponsible. He said: "The only
thing it would achieve, apart from placing a massive burden
on local authority services which would further strain social
cohesion, is to encourage more people to try and come here.
"It is an incredibly incompetent attempt to solve a massive
problem created entirely by Labour."
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: 'This
is yet another example of the Alice in Wonderland world of
human rights. If you break British law for long enough, you
acquire rights not penalties. "Home Office incompetence
has handed a human rights claim to hundreds of thousands of
people who have absolutely no right to be in Britain. "They
will now be allowed to stay here indefinitely, at huge expense
to the taxpayer. They will also qualify to go on the housing
list and will have the right to bring over their relatives.
"The public are sick and tired of the endless chaos in
the immigration system." Andrew Carter, Tory co-leader
of Leeds City Council, said it was "nothing more than
a crude amnesty" which would put enormous strain on local
authorities and the taxpayer. He accused the Government of
"spin and deceit" by attempting to package the policy
as a "case resolution programme". Mr Carter added:
"It is an absolute disgrace this is being foisted upon
councils and council tax payers. It is a burden we cannot
and should not be expected to cope with. "The scale of
the housing required is mind-blowing, and the damage it will
do to community cohesion is frightening." The 450,000
files in the Case Resolution Programme were found by the Home
Office last year, in the wake of the foreign prisoner scandal.
Some date back to the mid-1990s. Councils were warned earlier
this week to expect a sudden influx of housing claims.
In the Yorkshire and Humber region alone, 1,063 cases are
being considered. Leeds City Council has been told to make
available as many as 500 homes. The cities likely to be worst
affected are Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle,
as they have the largest number of people living in asylum-support
accommodation rented by the Government. The refugees will
benefit from the same clause in the Human Right Act that helped
Learco Chindamo, the man who killed headmaster Philip Lawrence,
win his battle against deportation earlier this week. The
Act also prevents the removal of asylum seekers to countries
where they could face torture or persecution, which is likely
to apply to tens of thousands in the backlog. Home Office
sources say the rate of approval is likely to fall from the
70 per cent of the first batch. That does not necessarily
mean more deportations, however. Asylum seekers with the weakest
claims are likely to have gone underground and there are fears
that those who cannot be traced will simply be dropped from
the programme to give the impression that rapid progress is
being made.
The Home Office has repeatedly rejected arguments in favour
of a large-scale amnesty for illegal immigrants, which includes
failed asylum seekers. Church leaders and unions officials
back such a move, which also won support among contenders
in the race for the Labour Party's deputy leadership. But,
as recently as May this year, the Home Office said: "An
amnesty for immigrants illegally in the UK is unnecessary
and would simply create a strong pull for waves of illegal
migration." Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border
& Immigration Agency, said in a statement: "This
is not an amnesty. "We are resolving the legacy of asylum
cases by 2011 in a targeted way, in line with the previous
Home Secretary's priorities of dealing first with those who
pose a risk to the public, those who are supported, those
who more easily be removed and those who may be granted. "This
process is now fully under way, with the existing rules being
applied on a case by case basis. We will take action to remove
those not granted permission to remain in the UK in line with
our policy of returning those who have no legal right to be
here. "No individuals will automatically qualify for
residency. Each case is being considered under the rules that
apply to all cases." She said she accepted the sudden
increase in cases would involve working more closely with
Government departments and councils, but added that, in the
long term, more of the migrants would be able to work and
support themselves.
2. GOVERNMENT URGED TO FAST-TRACK
IMMIGRATION PROCESS OF CHEFS IN BID TO AVOID OLYMPICS SKILLS
SHORTAGE
There are 5,000,000 inactive Britons. Why doesn't the Government
help to train some of the long term unemployed to fill those
shortages?
http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/08/15/41917/government-urged-to-fast-track-immigration-process-of-chefs-in-bid-to-avoid-olympics-skills-shortage.html
Foreign chefs must be given the same immigration fast-track
as Premiership footballers to stop the 2012 Olympic Games
being blighted by a kitchen skills crisis, Gordon Brown has
been told. Sector skills council People 1st and trade body
the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have sent a joint
letter to the prime minister urging him to act immediately
on the issue. London mayor Ken Livingstone has already warned
that increasing the standard of hospitality the capital offers
visitors is crucial to their perception of the 2012 Olympics.
Four in 10 UK chefs do not possess a Level Two qualification
– deemed to be the minimum needed to prepare food from
scratch. Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People 1st, said:
“The government has known for some time that employers
here are struggling to find highly skilled chefs. “There
is a certain irony in the fact that a sushi chef with 12 years’
training – who we really need in this country –
gets denied entry, yet footballers from the same part of the
world with less years’ training behind them take priority.”
BHA chief executive Bob Cotton added that high-quality Asian
restaurants were struggling to find enough chefs locally and
needed to look abroad. “With our food tastes evolving,
there is an urgent need for great chefs, and this will become
even more of an issue with the influx of millions of tourists
heading to London in advance of the Olympic Games,” he
said.
3. LOOKING FOR A JOB IN EU? RELAX,
IT WILL JUST GET EASIER
There are a lot of engineers and IT workers who are unemployed
because companies prefer cheaper Indian workers. This plan
is clearly unacceptable.
http://www.newkerala.com/july.php?action=fullnews&id=50659
Migration of Indian workers to countries in the European Union
(EU) is set to become easier with the government initiating
a process to facilitate development of legal migration between
India and the EU. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between
the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) and the International
Organization of Migration (IOM) was signed here Tuesday. The
new MoU on Regional Dialogue and Facilitating Managed and
Legal Migration between India and the European Union will
aim at facilitating development of legal migration, enhancing
regional cooperation on legal migration management and enhancing
dissemination of information relating to employment opportunities
in EU countries. "India is one of the handful of leading
countries in the world when it comes to overseas workers,"
IOM Director General Brunson McKinley said following the signing
of the accord. "It is one of the reasons for India's
dynamism and prosperity." Stating that the MoU calls
for the establishment of a project implementation unit (PIU)
in India, McKinley said, "We have been working on this
diligently for many, many years. It will go a long way in
helping India's migrant workers."
He said that the PIU will take up the following tasks on a
priority basis: training sessions for workers and mutual capacity
building; setting up of an overseas workers' resource centre
in India; and import of Indian professionals to select EU
countries like Italy, Spain and Ireland. The regional dialogue
of the IOM involves 11 Asian labour supplying nations - India,
China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Afghanistan - and five destination
countries in the EU: Italy, Germany, Britain, Ireland and
Spain. Stating that IOM has signed similar agreements with
several other countries, McKinley said, "But this agreement
with India is very important for us. After all, very few countries
have taken up steps like setting up a separate ministry for
ensuring smooth and legal migration of workers." At present
most skilled and semi-skilled workers in India migrate to
the Gulf nation. However, this project, McKinley said, would
help facilitate diversification of the migration process to
the EU, a region where the future is likely to throw up major
opportunities in the years to come.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs
Vayalar Ravi said that the MoU is in keeping with the MOIA's
goals to facilitate legal and smooth migration of Indian workers.
Stating that migrant workers are assets to the countries they
belong to, the minister said, "Around $270 billion are
sent by way of remittances by migrant workers to their respective
countries. Of this, around $200 billion go to developing nations."
He said that migration has given better opportunities for
the poor to earn their bread and butter from other places.
"However, we should ensure that they are not treated
as second class citizens in the countries they go to. A project
like this (with IOM) will ensure that overseas workers are
respected wherever they are," he added. Stating that
MOIA was looking to promote organised migration to labour
seeking countries in the EU, the minister cited Poland as
an example. "On our invitation, Poland's labour minister
came to India and we signed a pact to promote migration of
Indian workers to Poland, a country with a booming economy
but facing a labour shortage. "This agreement with IOM
will help in this process," he said. Established in 1951,
the Geneva-headquartered IOM is the leading inter-governmental
organization in the field of migration and works closely with
governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental partners.
As of now, it has got 120 members and 20 observer nations,
including India.
4. VALUES-BEFORE-VISA RULE FOR MIGRANTS
Mass immigration is a serious problem also in Australia and
the situation there is not much different from here. Even
if this party is not a great supporter of the current Australian
government, it gives credit to it for rejecting political
correctness and following common sense.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/valuesbeforevisa-rule-for-migrants/2007/07/31/1185647903675.html
A people coming to Australia on visas that could lead to permanent
residence will be forced to sign a values statement from October
under a radical shift in immigration policy. Immigration Minister
Kevin Andrews also says greater emphasis will be placed on
whether people are likely to be able to integrate when deciding
whether to grant them visas. Factors to be taken into account
when assessing a person's integration capacity include their
English skills, attitude towards learning English, their adaptability
and resourcefulness and their knowledge of Australia. Immigration
officers will be trained to implement the new integration
policy, which is expected to be introduced from next February.
The tightening of the policy comes after Prime Minister John
Howard last year criticised a small section of the Muslim
community for failing to integrate, including not adhering
to Australian values such as respect for women.
Mr Andrews said last night all people seeking permanent visas
and temporary visas where there was potential for long-term
stay, such as business skill visas, would be required to sign
a values statement from October before being granted visas.
This would commit them to obey Australian laws and respect
Australian values. "In defending Western culture we should
be unapologetic in requiring migrants to make a commitment
to our way of life," Mr Andrews said in a speech to the
Sydney Institute. "We cannot assume that the capacity
of all of our potential migrants to integrate successfully
is the same as their predecessors." He said Australian
values included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom
of association, equality of men and women, peacefulness and
compassion for those in need. Mr Andrews said the Government
had also decided to place greater emphasis on the capacity
of people to settle in Australia when assessing applications
for visas that could lead to permanent residence. He said
this would ensure that applicants could cope with the problems
associated with settlement, were able to integrate into Australian
society and, in the case of families, were united in their
desire to settle here. Mr Andrews said partner and child visas
and temporary skilled worker visas would be exempt from the
new policy. However, applicants for humanitarian visas would
be assessed against the integration criterion.
Australia's humanitarian program has been mired in controversy
in recent years amid concerns that thousands of African refugees
traumatised by civil war, illiterate in their own language
and with no experience of basics such as electricity were
struggling to integrate. "The Australian way of life
is … something to be rightfully proud of," Mr Andrews
said. "We are now welcoming migrants who have not been
exposed to these values and heritage, who may not have experienced
them in their past and who may not have thought about how
intrinsic they are to the Australian way of life they seek
to enjoy." Mr Andrews said he also expected the citizenship
test would be introduced from September.
5. TEST WILL INCLUDE CHRISTIAN HERITAGE
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/test-will-include-christian-heritage/2007/07/23/1185043033350.html
The compulsory citizenship test that measures understanding
of Australian values will include questions on Australia's
Judaeo-Christian background, as well as its geography and
the colour of the flag. With the citizenship resource manual
due for release soon, the Immigration Department's senior
official, Andrew Metcalfe, has confirmed that would-be citizens
should expect questions on Australia's post-1788 religious
heritage. Christian groups had lobbied the Government to acknowledge
this background in its primer on what defines Australia and
being Australian. "I think without doubt you can ultimately
trace our values and beliefs back to the body of knowledge
that derives from the Old Testament and upon which the Judaeo-Christian
background is based," Mr Metcalfe recently told a hearing
of the Senate's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
"We are talking about questions that go to Australia,
our values, our history, our geography, our political system
and national symbols," Mr Metcalfe said. "Part of
Australia, its values and its history would go to our belief
system, so I imagine that that is an area that would be covered
in the resource book." The Minister for Immigration,
Kevin Andrews, spoke of how "British settlers of Australia
brought with them the Anglo-Celtic principles and traditions
of Christianity, the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment"
in May when he spoke to Parliament about the new law.
The Labor senator Annette Hurley told Mr Metcalfe that government
secrecy had created "a bit of a climate of uncertainty
for people who are considering citizenship". The test
will require applicants to answer 20 multiple-choice questions,
including three that relate specifically to national values.
While the test's pass rate is 60 per cent, applicants must
get all three "Australian values" questions right
to pass. There is no limit to the number of times applicants
can sit the test. The questions will come from a pool of about
200 confidential questions, drawn from information in the
citizenship resource book. "We need to make sure that
people are not only familiar with Australia and our values,
but also able to understand and appreciate the commitment
they are required to make," Mr Andrews said in May
6. ID CARD FOR FOREIGN MAIDS WILLING
TO WORK IN MALAYSIA
Malaysia can teach some lessons to our political elite on
how to deal with immigrants.
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=275973
Employers of foreign maids will be required to apply for their
maids' Identity Card soon, Immigration Department director-general
Datuk Wahid Md Don said today. He said the IC would be introduced
soon in a move to facilitate the identification of maids who
were usually difficult to trace compared to other foreigners.
"This is an effort to keep watch on them. We will also
cooperate with the Association of Foreign Maid Agencies to
trace the maids to ensure that they could obtain the cards,"
he told reporters here today. It would also help in the move
to produce new identity cards for foreign workers, foreign
students, expatriates and Malaysia My Second Home participants,
he said. "Employers can go to Immigration offices in
every state and apply when the dates are announced soon."
Wahid said the department was currently producing identity
cards for 66,000 foreign students in the country. This would
be completed by the end of August after which the production
of identity cards for about two million foreign workers would
begin. The Identity Card with 17 security features was launched
by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March.
They were meant to trace foreign students, workers and expatriates.
7. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN ANGOLA
ALARMING
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL31870092.html
Angola's president says illegal immigration has grown to alarming
levels in the southern African country. Jose Eduardo dos Santos
expressed his concerns after talks on Monday with his Congolese
counterpart Joseph Kabila. Aid workers in the western Congo
are struggling to help tens of thousands of Congolese nationals
deported in the past few weeks from Angola where they had
been illegally mining diamonds. A statement obtained by Reuters
on Tuesday said Dos Santos appealed to Kabila for help to
cope with the number of illegal immigrants which he said had
reached "alarming proportions". "I solicit
your comprehension and collaboration, for us to combat together
the phenomenon of illegal immigration," he said of a
"silent invasion" which could hurt national security.
Years of warfare in the DRC have forced 6 million people from
their homes. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has estimated
the huge central African country has 1.1 million internally
displaced people and a further 400,000 have fled abroad. Human
rights groups have accused Angolan authorities of brutally
assaulting Congolese miners in 2004 and of raping Congolese
women during operations to expel tens of thousands of illegal
diamond miners. Angola is the continent's third largest diamond
producer and the world's fifth biggest in terms of value.
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