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Hundreds of thousands of failed asylum seekers may
be allowed to settle permanently in Britain under a "back-door
amnesty" scheme.
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Cardinal Cormack Murphy O'Connor and The Bishop of Southwark
support an amnesty for illegal migrants
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The Government is striving to clear a backlog of
450,000 "legacy" cases
of immigrants who were turned down for refugee status
but were never expelled.
A 1,000-strong Home Office team has been set up to
work through the list, giving priority to individuals and families who
may now qualify for UK residency rights because such a long time has
passed since their initial rejection.
Without publicity, the first 6,000 families on the
list were sent questionnaires last month asking about their current
circumstances. Insiders close to the scheme said those who gave the
"right" answers would be granted "leave to remain".
Asylum seekers who
cannot be traced are expected to be simply struck off the "legacy"
list, giving the impression that officials have made progress in
tackling the backlog. They would no longer be sought
actively for removal, even though they would remain illegal immigrants
- liable for deportation if ever caught.
A campaign for an amnesty for illegal migrants has
won backing from many Labour MPs and Church leaders.
But David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said:
"Senior members of this Government, including Harriet Harman [Labour
deputy leader] and Alan Johnson [Health Secretary], may have publicly
endorsed an amnesty for people entering the UK illegally, but now the
Government is effectively offering an amnesty via the back door."
Those granted leave-to-remain status will be able to
live and work freely in the UK, and claim benefits. After five years
they can apply for a British passport. This would normally be granted
unless an applicant commits serious crimes or is considered a national
security threat. ( The security threat is there
for all to see N.M.)
Officials have been told to give priority to cases
in four categories: those likely to qualify for leave to remain; those
receiving financial support from the Home Office pending appeal
against refusal of asylum; those who can be removed easily; and those
who pose a risk to the public.
Liam Clifford, a former immigration officer and head
of the consultancy globalvisas.com, said:
"While the Home Office talks tough, it is preparing for one of
the biggest mass grants of residency rights to asylum seekers in
history.
"The word is out at street level that completing the
questionnaire will result in the right to stay in the UK. The BIA
simply does not have the resources to investigate each case properly,
so it will grant all the applications it can in order to clear the
backlog."
Ministers insist the scheme does not amount to an
amnesty because decisions are being taken on a case-by-case basis.
Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said: "We have no plans for an
amnesty, which I have condemned as wrong. This has always been our
position and remains the case." (What a load of
bulldustN.M.)
The move to clear up the asylum backlog follows the
biggest wave of legal migration in history, with more than 600,000
eastern Europeans moving to the UK since the 2004 EU expansion.
Only about 18,000 failed asylum seekers were removed
last year. Efforts by the Home Office to increase the rate of removals
have met with limited success. |
