It is difficult, in many cases, to enforce immigration decisions by removing the appellant. Many deliberately destroy their travel documents and invent another country of nationality. Home Office officials trawl their records and use the European database to try to ascertain the appellant’s nationality while the appellant is kept in custody and warned he will stay there unless he co-operates. Eventually, however, he is granted bail as removal is “not imminent” and, of course, he absconds. Removal is not easy.
There are no clear statistics to show how many illegal immigrants are actually removed or deported against their will. It is assumed that the figure is about 4,000. Not so long ago the Home Office had a fast-track procedure intended for manifestly unworthy appeals where