Britain suffocates in immigration problems

The UK is a very attractive country for immigrants. Its well-organized system of social security that is available to all, without exception and its high standard of living are the main reasons why many foreigners choose to stay in the UK permanently. However, the British do not like this dominance of the immigrants.

The British Ministry of Internal Affairs at this time has over half a million unaddressed cases related to immigrants. It will take at least 37 years to process them. These data were reported by the British Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs. It should be noted that a year ago there were only 275,000 such cases. The agency responsible for the control of immigration and visas is faced with an unprecedented situation. 502.5 thousand claims remain unresolved, which is a historical high.

The "queue" is increasing at a fast pace because cases that have not been addressed earlier have been discovered, explained MPs of the Committee for Internal Affairs. The total number of cases included over four thousand foreign criminals that the British government intends to deport, 35.5 thousand people seeking asylum, and 61,000 cases not logged in the computer system. The Parliamentary Committee called the situation "astonishing," demanding that Theresa May, the British Home Secretary, provided further clarification.

The issue of immigration is extremely acute in many European countries. Their liberal policies and a high standard of living have led to the fact that crowds of immigrants, particularly from developing countries, rushed into the developed countries of Europe. They do anything they can to stay in Britain. As a result, according to the latest statistics, over 13 percent of the population in the country is immigrants. Britain is particularly favored by people from India, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ireland. Immigrants in the UK are faced with many challenges.

British immigrants, especially of African-Caribbean origin and Asians are faced with different challenges. It is hard for them to find employment. Studies show that it is much easier for whites to get a job. For example, among Bangladeshis and black Africans unemployment rate is 24 percent and 27 percent, respectively, among the Indians - 12 percent, while among the white population unemployed is only eight percent.

Black immigrants are faced with most difficulties in obtaining a bank loan for housing. Approximately 38 percent of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis face this kind of problem. Children of immigrants also experience difficulties. As a rule, members of ethnic minorities live in cheap areas of large cities, and attend schools where the level of education is quite low.

It is next to impossible for the children of immigrants to obtain a good education. Compared with blacks, Asians are much more successful. Some wealthy Indians are investing a great deal of money in the education of their people in Britain. For example, Dulwich College, located in south-east London, is considered one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and was funded by patrons of India.

Members of ethnic minorities are more often checked by the British services. Black youth is currently a major target for the British police. A number of black people commit various crimes, and get imprisoned in England and Wales. However, this does not stop them. Every year the number of visitors coming to the UK is increasing, and they go to great lengths to stay in the country forever.

Fictitious marriages are one of the ways to stay in the country. Illegal immigrants enter into thousands of marriages with the British. The Foreign Office of Great Britain believes that tightening of the laws that regulate issuance of student visas forced immigrants to resort to this method. Over the past few years tens of thousands of citizens of other countries came to the UK under the pretext of studying. The Government is convinced that these people did not intend to return to their home countries after graduation.

The country has shut down dozens of fake schools, and also tightened the rules of enrolling students who reside outside of the EU. During this time, the number of foreign students has decreased by 22 percent, and is now at 190,000 people. However, after the introduction of this measure immigrants have found a rather simple but effective way to cheat the system.

Bogus marriages with EU citizens or subjects of Her Majesty allow them to legally stay in the country. These immigrants may even receive social benefits. Only in 2012 British police identified over two thousand fictitious marriages, half of them with foreigners. A signature in a marriage document brings a "bride" or "groom" decent income (several thousand dollars). Immigrants are using all possible ways to stay in Britain for good, but it causes plenty of problems.

British Minister for Immigration called on the Government to improve the monitoring system for people entering the country. The Chief Inspector of UKBA (UK Border Agency) believes that the agency does not have "a clear strategy" against foreigners remaining in the country after expiration of their visas.

John Vine who oversees the agency said that the number of immigrants from countries that are not EU members is constantly growing. The Border Guard Service has no accurate data about the exact number of people who were to leave Britain but never did. Some politicians blamed the previous government, while the Labour Party claims that the situation is due to the mistakes made by conservatives. Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary is convinced that the ruling coalition has failed in the matters of illegal immigration.

The UK government, aware of the severity of the situation, is going to limit the access of migrants to the labor market of the country, and deal with the immigration policy of the United Kingdom in its entirety. The British Prime Minister said that the government intended to stop the flow of migrants to the UK. In particular, it is proposed to impose fines on private landlords who fail to check the immigration status of their tenants. Those who lease housing to unregistered visitors will face a fine of 1,000 pounds.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Queen Elizabeth II share the opinion that the access for immigrants to unemployment benefits must be limited to six months, and new rules for local governments must be created. When allocating social housing, they will have to give priority to the locals. Companies that use illegal labor will likely face large fines. Cameron also said that only after 12 months of being in the country immigrants may receive civil legal aid.

The Prime Minister hopes that the new proposals will help to calm the discontent of the local population. The British are extremely hostile to immigrants. Approximately 47 percent of the British said that they strongly opposed immigrants from countries outside of the EU. Only 20 percent of the British approve of immigrants. 52 percent of respondents believe that Muslims are creating huge problems for Britain, and 48 percent of Britons would support a party that opposes immigration. The authorities in the UK will have to make serious efforts to tidy up the state immigration policy to maintain their image and trust of the local population.

Sergei Vasilenkov

Pravda.Ru 

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