Send the rule-breakers back
The quest for control of our borders struggled on this week, with reports of government plans to send to Rwanda for ‘offshore’ processing those coming without permission across the English Channel in small boats. Meanwhile parliament descended into what is quaintly known as “ping pong” between the Commons and the Lords. In fact, it is a euphemism for a battle royal between the two Houses as to which will one will get its way. In this case, the House of Peers, with some support from the House of Commons, is determined to tear the guts out of the Nationality and Borders Bill, including the plans for off-shore processing centres and to differentiate between orderly asylum applications and those who have arrived by illegal means. The Peers’ tactic seems to be to delay the passage of the Bill to the point when the government will be obliged to make concessions if it wants the Bill to make it to Royal Assent. And then, assuming a meaningful Act eventually sees the light of day, it will be a matter of the government having the will and backbone to implement the measures for which the new legislation will allow. We hope we are wrong but we at Migration Watch still have serious doubts that we will ever get to that point. As we have said, offshore processing and detention were a key part of Australia’s effective policy which stopped the boats. But it is far from the whole story, it is also necessary to show that such illegal journeys will not lead to those arriving this way being allowed to stay. Meanwhile, we can be pretty sure that the number of small boat and lorry crossings will go well beyond the record 2021 numbers (For regular updates see our Tracking Station). Real control can only happen when we start getting tough on illegal immigration and swiftly remove the rule-breakers.
Blog of the week
How Mass, Uncontrolled Immigration Threatens Your Quality Of Life
The government clearly pledged to get control of immigration and reduce it. But the opposite is happening. Uncapped and unmanageable routes into the UK are opened regularly, and the chaos in the English Channel means boats with thousands of uninvited migrants arriving more and more frequently. Ongoing mass, uncontrolled immigration and a ridiculously porous border pose a serious threat to our quality of life and future stability. They push up house prices, rents, cause congestion and put huge pressure on services, including the NHS, while the overwhelmed and abused asylum system costs billions and the resulting population crush increasingly erodes our treasured green spaces. Read the full blog here.
Migration Watch in the news
Our Chairman Alp Mehmet was in the news this week. See below:
GB News: Government plans to process migrants outside the UK
‘To me it seems like a headline-catching little announcement and it is interesting that this came on the back of the latest surge [on the Channel].’
The government pledged to take action after finally confirming (into the fifth year of rampant boat crossings) shocking news that we have been hearing about for years, that of boat migrants ‘dangling babies over the side of boats’ in order to bully their way into the UK. We issued the following comment:
‘It is deeply disturbing that anyone would threaten the safety of an innocent child to blackmail their way into the UK. The public will be sickened and appalled by this. Such outrageous scenes only underline the extent of lawlessness that has been allowed to grow in the English Channel. It is of course right for the authorities to take very robust action against those found to be responsible.’
And here are some more reactions to the week’s news:
Spiked: No, Britain’s education system is not racist
‘This is why sensible border control matters. The changes in our society are coming at a cost, and we must address this and strengthen all communities.’
Guardian: UK opens more welcome hubs for Ukrainian refugees
‘Despite what the open borders brigade claim, the government has, quite rightly, and processing confusion aside, done its best for Ukraine refugees and should be commended. The largely women and children fleeing the horrors of Putin’s barbarism are entirely different from those leaving safe countries like France to travel to the UK illegally to seek asylum. They are simply queue-jumping rule-breakers (a majority of them men of working age) looking for a better life – as the head of the Refugee Council reminded us recently.’
GB News: Nigel Farage reiterates call for Brexit 2.0 to ‘return people to France’
‘Mr Farage makes a fair point. The real solution is to send a message that coming here illegally won’t work. Everything else is hot air.’
Make your voice heard
Immigration (especially its scale) is a critically important issue affecting our society and citizens that merits extensive democratic debate. Controlling the numbers and who can and cannot enter a country is of fundamental importance for any sovereign nation. The scale and nature of immigration touches on and has an impact on our everyday lives. The trouble is that the government is doing the opposite of what they promised – opening countless new uncapped and unmanageable routes and accepting skyrocketing numbers to enter having made their way here illegally. That’s an affront to the public who pay taxes and abide by the law. We see constant spin and tough talk while the numbers keep going up. Write to your MP to make your voice heard on border control.