|
British
National
Party
UK Immigration News Bulletin w/c August 6, 2007
Subscribe to this and other BNP
News Bulletins here http://www.bnp.org.uk/mailing_list.htm
No sign up required, just give your email address, and that's
it.
1. MINISTERS 'FAILED TO PLAN'
FOR INFLUX OF EASTERN EUROPEANS
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2133710,00.html
Ministers were today accused of failing to properly plan
for the number of eastern Europeans workers coming to Britain
as new figures showed that the number of those given national
insurance numbers rose by 16% last year. Registrations from
the 10 former communist states that have joined the EU since
2004 - plus Cyprus and Malta - reached 321,000 in 2006-07,
a rise of 44,000. The figures contrasted with latest Home
Office data published in May, which indicated that only
245,675 people from the 10 countries had arrived in Britain.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman,
said: "A liberal, open immigration policy only makes
sense if you also plan for its consequences. "It is
clear that the government has failed to plan adequately
both in terms of housing and funding for local services.
The Home Office data does not include those coming here
to be self-employed or as dependants, and although today's
data is not directly comparable it could help give a truer
picture of how many immigrants are arriving from Poland
and the nine other ex-Soviet bloc states now in the EU.
NI numbers are required to work - either in employment or
self-employment - and to claim benefits and tax credits.
Today's data from the Department for Work and Pensions said
that there were 713,000 registrations for NI numbers in
2006-07 from all nationalities, up 51,000 (8%) year-on-year.
This means that the total number of NI numbers allocated
to foreigners by the government has more than doubled since
2002-03, when the total was just 349,200. The figures also
included a rise in NI registrations for people from Asia
and the Middle East, from 134,000 in 2005-06 to 145,000.
Most of the increase in arrivals from the ex-communist states
was due to Polish nationals, of whom 223,000 registered
in 2006-07. Of the 562,000 immigrants listed as arriving
in Britain in 2005-06, 16,000 (2.8%) were claiming out-of-work
benefits within six months of registering for an NI number,
the report added. The Home Office's Accession Monitoring
Report, published in May, showed that 235,275 immigrants
from the eight former communist states that joined the EU
in May 2004 signed the Worker Registration Scheme in 2006-07.
There were also 8,000 arrivals from Romania and Bulgaria
in the first three months of this year after they joined
the EU, plus 2,400 seasonal agricultural workers. Damian
Green, the shadow immigration minister, said: "These
extraordinary figures show that over two million new foreign
workers have come to Britain in the last four years - and
this is simply the number for those who are working legally.
"The numbers coming are not only huge, they are accelerating.
"It is impossible for the British jobs market to absorb
so many people so quickly without causing severe strains."
Mr Green said that this was a "graphic illustration"
of why the Conservatives were calling for an explicit annual
limit on the numbers allowed to come to Britain to work
from outside the EU. "Without this control the benefits
of immigration will be lost among the social and economic
difficulties caused by the sheer scale of the current numbers,"
he said. Chris Grayling, the shadow work and pensions secretary,
added: "At a time when Gordon Brown is refusing to
provide a pensions lifeboat for the 125,000 British pensioners
who have lost their pensions, I think people will find it
surprising to say the least that so much money is being
spent by our benefits system on people who are supposed
to have come to the country to work." A Home Office
spokesman said: "The number of national insurance numbers
issued to accession nationals is consistent with Home Office
data and shows that people are coming here from the expanded
EU to work. "However, there are legitimate concerns
about managing some of the effects of migration on communities.
We are listening to these concerns. "That is why we
have taken a more gradual approach to opening our labour
market to people from Bulgaria and Romania by maintaining
restrictions and introducing quotas on low-skilled jobs."
He added: "Last month we had the first meeting of the
Migration Impacts Forum, set up to advise the government
what effect migration is having on local communities, particularly
with regard to housing, education and crime levels. "We
have also established a Migration Advisory Committee to
offer expert independent advice on the effects of migration
on the labour market and how it can fill skills shortages.
"To obtain a national insurance number people have
to demonstrate that they have the right to work."
2. UK GETS 2.5M NEW FOREIGN WORKERS
The real number is higher because it doesn't take into account
the immigrants who are not registered or illegal.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6913296.stm
Two and a half million foreigners have moved to the UK to
work since 2002, National Insurance figures suggest. The
numbers, which include those who may only have been in the
UK for a short time, have been getting larger each year,
reaching 713,000 last year. The Home Office stressed these
were people coming to the UK to work, and said it now monitored
social impact. But Damian Green, for the Tories, said the
"huge" and "accelerating" figures were
"extraordinary" and should be cut. The shadow
immigration minister highlighted the 300,000 workers arriving
in the UK from outside the EU, saying that number should
be cut. If not, he said: "The benefits of immigration
will be lost among the social and economic difficulties
caused by the sheer scale of the current numbers."
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said the 16% increase
in east European immigrants given National Insurance numbers
"confirm that the numbers are considerably higher than
the Government first estimated". He said the Government
had "failed to plan adequately both in terms of housing
and funding for local services".
Registration scheme
But, he said: "It should be remembered that people
are only coming to Britain because they are successfully
providing services and doing jobs available in the British
economy to the benefit of British consumers." National
Insurance numbers are needed by anyone of working age who
wants to work legally or claim benefits in the UK. The figures
do not include dependents such as children. The expansion
of the EU has been the biggest reason for the increase -
222,000 Polish people were given National Insurance numbers
for the first time in 2006/7, bringing the total to 466,000
in the past four years. That is higher than previous Home
Office figures based on the workers registration scheme,
which does not include the self-employed. The National Insurance
figures, released by the Department for Work and Pensions,
show the vast majority of people coming to the UK to work
from across the world are under the age of 35 and 54% were
men. Analysis of the previous year's figure shows that about
16,000 of the foreign workers were claiming out-of-work
benefits within six months of getting a National Insurance
number.
'Introducing quotes'
The 713,00 figure for the latest year is more than double
the 349,000 National Insurance numbers allocated to overseas
nationals in the year to April 2003. In that year the largest
place of origin for those workers - 114,000 - was Asia and
the Middle East, followed by 80,000 from the "old"
European Union member countries. Although the influx of
new EU nationals accounts for much of the rise, there has
been a rise in numbers from all continents with the exception
of Africa. There are a variety of ways in which immigration
is measured in the UK, although there is not one definitive
one, and none include illegal immigrants. 'Maintaining restrictions'
These figures do not mean there are now 713,000 more foreign
workers in the UK than a year earlier, as the figures do
not count those who leave the UK. A Home Office spokesman
said: "The number of National Insurance numbers issued
to accession nationals is consistent with Home Office data
and shows that people are coming here from the expanded
EU to work. "However, there are legitimate concerns
about managing some of the effects of migration on communities.
We are listening to these concerns. "That is why we
have taken a more gradual approach to opening our labour
market to people from Bulgaria and Romania by maintaining
restrictions and introducing quotas on low-skilled jobs."
He added: "Last month we had the first meeting of the
Migration Impacts Forum, set up to advise the Government
what effect migration is having on local communities, particularly
with regard to housing, education and crime levels."
3. DAMAGES AND RIGHT TO REMAIN
FOR RAPIST
Another example of the kind of "enrichment" brought
by mass immigration.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/19/nrapist119.xml
A convicted rapist has won a ruling to block his deportation
on human rights grounds, it was revealed yesterday. Three
Appeal Court judges were told of the ruling as they considered
a challenge from the Home Office to a High Court decision
that the 31-year-old man from Somalia is also entitled to
damages for unlawful detention. "A" was jailed
for eight years in 1998 of raping and indecently assaulting
a woman. The court heard yesterday that in April, the Asylum
and Immigration Tribunal allowed his appeal against the
Home Secretary's refusal to revoke a deportation order.
His QC Richard Drabble said A had won his case on human
rights grounds and the Home Secretary was seeking to have
the matter reconsidered. Yesterday's appeal concerned a
decision by Mr Justice Calvert-Smith at the High Court last
December. The Home Office refused to release A after probation
reports said he continued to deny the rape offence, failed
to show remorse and posed a risk of reoffending. Mr Drabble
had argued that he had been detained "way past a reasonable
period" to facilitate his removal once he had completed
his sentence. Nigel Giffin QC, appearing for the Home Secretary,
asked the Appeal Court to overturn the High Court ruling
in A's favour. The judges will give their decision at a
later date.
4. POLICE INVESTIGATE BOGUS DETENTION
LAWYER
http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,,2133210,00.html
A bogus lawyer who evaded security at two detention centres
and took thousands of pounds from desperate asylum seekers
is at the centre of a police investigation. The Home Office
confirmed that detectives are examining the activities of
Alan Kamara-Francis, a self-styled "street barrister"
who claims he has been entering Yarl's Wood and Oakington
detention centres for the past four years to act as a legal
adviser to migrants facing deportation. He is not a solicitor
or barrister and is not registered as an immigration adviser.
Mr Kamara-Francis, 36, has been able to gain access to the
migrants because security checks have been inadequate.Individual
detainees have arranged for sums of between £200 and
£500 to be paid directly into his bank account, but
many have subsequently been deported. Campaigners say their
cases must be reviewed because they did not have meaningful
representation. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner,
which regulates immigration advisers, is investigating Mr
Kamara-Francis. "He's not registered with us and the
information we have is that he's not regulated by anybody,"
said a spokeswoman for the OISC. Two of his "clients"
were deported last week, the most recent on Thursday evening.
Adesuwa Ojo was sent back to Nigeria, but before putting
her on a plane police and ISC officials took a statement
from her about Mr Kamara-Francis. More than 20 cases dealt
with by Mr Kamara have come to light in Yarl's Wood and
approximately eight in Oakington. It is the responsibility
of immigration removal centre staff to verify the credentials
of lawyers and other visitors. Last night Mr Kamara-Francis
said he welcomed the police inquiry, and said he was training
to be a barrister. "I'm a street barrister, my chambers
are in my room at home. I have acquired knowledge and I
just want to show it to the world. I don't need to take
exams, I'm self-taught." Mr Kamara-Francis said he
has "represented" 76 detainees in Yarl's Wood,
Oakington and Dover immigration removal centres and has
offered "informal" advice to about 1,000 people
over the years. "Security is tight, so it can be difficult
to penetrate. Sometimes I'll be squeezed to see 10 people
in 40 minutes." He acknowledged that detainees friends'
had paid money into his bank account but he said it merely
accounted for taxi bills and registration fees with his
firm. Before her deportation, Ms Ojo, 34, said she agreed
to instruct Mr Kamara-Francis over the phone. "He told
me that I had a strong case and that if I paid him £500
he would take my case to the high court. He said he's a
human rights lawyer and that the money should be paid into
his bank account. I called my friend and asked her if she
could find the money." She said Mr Kamara-Francis was
due to visit her on Friday July 13, "but when I went
down to reception to meet him staff told me they were not
allowing him in because he was not a proper lawyer".
Mr Kamara-Francis said: "I say to the Home Office,
'This woman is sick and can't be deported', or I quote articles
3, 5, 6 and 8 of the Human Rights Act but they don't listen.
If the Home Office don't listen that's it, I can't do anything."
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It's not appropriate
for us to comment at the moment." Alex Gask, legal
officer at Liberty, said: "The victims of this alleged
crime must be given an opportunity to get genuine legal
representation before any removal action is taken against
them." Emma Ginn, of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation
Campaigns, said the ease with which Mr Kamara-Francis acquired
clients showed the system was flawed. "The government
and the Legal Services Commission say there is sufficient
legal representation for asylum seekers. But the fact that
so many detainees enlisted the services of this man because
there were no other choices available to them explodes that
myth."
5. 'BLUE CARD' TO ATTRACT TOP
TALENT FROM OUTSIDE EU
European Union is partly to blame for our immigration mess.
The sooner we leave it, the better.
http://euobserver.com/9/24542/?rk=1
As part of efforts to fulfil Europe's need for highly-qualified
workers, Brussels is set to issue an EU-wide work permit
allowing employment to non-Europeans, in any country within
the 27-nation bloc, EU home affairs commissioner Franco
Frattini said in an interview with EUobserver. The idea
of an EU work permit – dubbed the 'blue card' after
the colour of the European Union flag – is to be formally
tabled in September. Mr Frattini hopes it will make Europe
a more attractive work destination than the US, Canada or
Australia and cut down on the severe labour shortages facing
the bloc due to its aging population and declining birth
rates. "It is up to me - up to Europe - to promote
and encourage highly-skilled migrants to come, if needed
and where needed", Mr Frattini said. He added he would
also suggest the "possibility of intra-EU movement"
under certain conditions. Under the plan, an Indian doctor
working in a Belgian hospital, for example, would be allowed
to move to another EU member state after an initial period
of two years, if he found legal employment there. He could
subsequently move to another member state after another
year. In addition, the card will enable a specialist to
return to their home country and to re-enter EU territory
after four or five years, without having to start all the
administrative procedures from scratch. Brussels believes
this could prevent foreign immigrants from outstaying their
welcome in Europe, as well as counter the devastating effect
of "brain drain" from the world's developing countries.
"The blue card is not a permanent card like the American
green card", the EU commissioner said. The card "will
make it possible to encourage highly-skilled workers to
come and to avoid brain draining at the same time,"
he added. Until now, migration has proved to be a highly
sensitive issue within the bloc, but Mr Frattini believes
there may be "broad consensus" among EU capitals,
as they will maintain control over their labour markets.
"I am offering a simplified procedure, facilitating
the access of people who are needed...but it is up to each
member state to determine how many [non-European] experts
they need", he said. "While member states are
particularly reluctant concerning low-skilled or seasonal
workers, they are very keen to attract highly-skilled migrants
– engineers, doctors, researchers", he concluded.
According to commission estimates, labour shortages will
peak by 2050 when 25 million Europeans are expected to retire
from work and one-third of the population will be over 65
years of age.
6. FIVE IMMIGRATION OFFENDERS
JAILED IN BRUNEI
Why cannot British authorities do the same?
http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/July07/190707/nite10.htm
Five foreigners who were detained during an operation jointly
conducted by the Immigration Enforcement Department and
other agencies on the eve of July 15 were produced before
the Bandar Magistrate's Court yesterday. They pleaded guilty
to overstaying in the country. Marianita Campasas, a 33-year-old
Filipino woman, whose social visit pass expired on March
11 this year, was sentenced to four months' jail. She was
arrested from a hotel room in the capital. Meanwhile, a
39-year-old Filipino man, Aljoin Lonactos Apalar, whose
social visit passes expired in March 2006, was sentenced
to five months' jail and three strokes of the cane. Two
Indonesians, Hajar Solikin, 40, and Kusman Koderi, 47, whose
visit passes expired in October 2006, were both sentenced
to four months' jail and three strokes or the cane. They
were arrested at a rented place in Kg Kiarong. Another Indonesian,
Hem Pujiono, whose visit pass expired in November 2004,
meanwhile, was sentenced to eight months' jail and three
strokes of" the cane. He was arrested at BTC Flat in
En Tasek Lama.
7. RECOMMENDED READING
Overcrowded Britain by Ashley Mote MEP
http://www.bnp.org.uk/shopping/excalibur/item.php?id=691
Do we need mass immigration? By Anthony Brown
http://www.bnp.org.uk/shopping/excalibur/item.php?id=106
|
