Amnesty

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Apparently Boris is a fan. Why are people so opposed? Wouldn't it be better to have these people legit and paying taxes?

[Platypus]

legit, on benefits, using our schools and hospitals, working in the black economy.

Yep, sounds like a LibDem policy.

[gingerjedi]

legit, on benefits, using our schools and hospitals, working in the black economy.

Yep, sounds like a LibDem policy.

Exactly, the effect will be to legitimise 600,000 people and give them all the rights and benefits of UK citizens... which leaves a void for the shyster work gang leaders and criminals to fill with more illegals to exploit.

It's not a good situation but the LibDems won't solve the problem.

[TimberWolf]

It's the biggest reason I won't be voting Lib Dem. But for their immigration policy, they'd be favourites to win the general election IMO.

[contractor79]

Apparently Boris is a fan. Why are people so opposed? Wouldn't it be better to have these people legit and paying taxes?

They've invaded our country illegally.

We must wonder why? There are proper application processes for emigrating here. So why did they not get in the queue like everyone else?

God only knows what some of them were up to before coming in here illegally. Some could be criminals on the run. By entering our country illegally they became criminals from day 1.

We owe these cretins nothing. Deport them. Keep benefits and jobs to British people.

[OwlHoot]

Exactly, the effect will be to legitimise 600,000 people and give them all the rights and benefits of UK citizens... which leaves a void for the shyster work gang leaders and criminals to fill with more illegals to exploit.

It's not a good situation but the LibDems won't solve the problem.

and obviously an amnesty would encourage hundreds of thousands more illegals to turn up (pretty much as you said). Who could blame them?

Peoplesoft Blole, you're aptly named, because you sound a bit soft in the head - Even Gordon Brown agrees, or says he does, that an amnesty is a Bad Idea.

[threaded]

and obviously an amnesty would encourage hundreds of thousands more illegals to turn up (pretty much as you said).

Actually when they've done these amnesties in various countries and discovered 'more turning up' the reality was under-reporting in the statistics due to political pressure.

[DimPrawn]

In 1986 in the USA, 2.7M illegal immigrants were granted an amnesty.

14 years later there were 9.3 more illegal immigrants in the country, many who had come to join family members.

It's a great way to advertise it's okay to live in a country illegally.

As for the "boost to the economy", you are having a laugh.

Many would be straight on benefits or in min wage jobs, getting tax credits, free health, free pensions, free childcare, free education, rent paid for, council tax paid for, etc.

[xoggoth]

I think there should be some route for useful potentially high earning sorts to legitimise their position, that "Face of Sainsburies" girl last year or that footballer a year or two ago but a blanket amnesty is crazy is it legitimises the rubbish. With the current system we may not remove all of them but at least the ability exist to remove the useless or criminal.

Frankly, most are no net benefit even when they are employed and law abiding. Which is it? Migrants doing the low paid jobs "the British don't want to do" or "providing future pensions of an ageing population" ? The two are not compatible as the low paid do not even cover their own future pensions. When legitimised they will presumably be legally able to claim benefits, health services etc and their usefulness will be even lower.

Many are also provenly dishonest, having deliberately evaded controls with false stories/papers and entry methods and are therefore basically undesirable as citizens. Do we let people drive without car tax if they have got away with it for long enough? Why are immigrants an exception in being allowed to flout the law?

[AtW]

They've invaded our country illegally.

How can one invade this country legally?



Anyway, you ignorant sods - there is (since forever?) a 14 year rule: any illegal gets permanent residence so long as they can prove they were in this country in any capacity for 14 years.

10 years for those who were on legit visas that do not normally lead to permanent residence (ie students) - all LibDems want to do is to reduce 14 years to 10 years - hardly a massive difference to anyone apart from a handful of people who can actually prove they were in this country for 14 years: this would usually require a 14 year old visa in some of the passports, being smuggled across the channel would make it very hard to prove the date when it was done.