Britain introduces new measures against illegal immigration
The Cabinet of Ministers, in particular, intends to declare working in the country without a corresponding work visa or other official permission a criminal offense for foreign migrants. Money earned in this way will be confiscated.
According to existing legislation, companies hiring illegal migrants face a fine of up to 20,000 pounds sterling ($31,000). Now the illegal migrants themselves who take up employment will also be held accountable before the law.
Cameron added that equating illegal work with a criminal offense should be accompanied by measures aimed at eradicating the demand for illegal migrant labor. The government is convinced that confiscating the wages of illegal migrants will make it difficult for them to stay in the UK.
The new law targeting illegal work will affect not only illegal migrants but also those who entered the country legally but decided to stay after the expiration of their visa or violated the conditions of the issued visa restricting the right to work. Currently, foreigners legally in the country but violating the ban or restrictions on work can be prosecuted and sentenced to six months in prison, but the money they have earned cannot be confiscated. The existing legislation in this area does not apply to illegal immigrants at all, and their income cannot be confiscated either. David Cameron promised to change this situation.
However, lawyer Sairah Grant from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants expresses doubts about the effectiveness of the new control measures. "Will these wages be confiscated retroactively? It should not be forgotten that these are often very poor people trying to feed their families," she says.
The government also intends to give local councils the right to evict illegal migrants. All foreign criminals released from prison will be required to wear electronic bracelets pending their deportation.
As the BBC recalls, in 2010 the newly elected government of David Cameron promised to reduce the level of migration to Britain, stating that net migration should not exceed 100,000 people per year. The Office for National Statistics published migration data for 2014, according to which net migration reached 318,000 people, 109,000 more than in 2013. The number of migrants almost reached the record level recorded in 2005.
According to this data, in 2014, 641,000 people arrived in Britain, and 323,000 left the country. 284,000 people migrated to Britain in search of work, 70,000 more than in the previous year. The number of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens arriving in Britain doubled in 2014 and reached 46,000 people. In the period from January to March 2015, the number of EU citizens working in Britain increased by 283,000 compared to the previous year.