Illegal immigration to the United Kingdom

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Although it is difficult to measure how many people reside in the UK without authorisation, a Home Office study based on Census 2001 data released in March 2005 estimated a population of between 310,000 and 570,000. [1] [2] The methods used to arrive at a figure are also much debated. [3] Problems arise in particular from the very nature of the target population, which is hidden and mostly wants to remain so. [4] The different definitions of 'illegality' adopted in the studies also pose a significant challenge to the comparability of the data. However, despite the methodological difficulties of estimating the number of people living in the UK without authorisation, the residual method has been widely adopted. [5] [6] [2] This method subtracts the known number of authorised migrants from the total migrant population to arrive at a residual number which represents the de facto number of illegal migrants. [7]

Contents

More recently, a study carried out by a research team at LSE for the Greater London Authority, published in 2009, estimated the illegal migrant population of the UK by updating the Home Office study. [6] The LSE's study takes into account other factors not included in the previous estimate, namely the continued arrival of asylum seekers, the clearance of the asylum applications backlog, further illegal migrants entering and leaving the country, more migrants overstaying, and the regularisation of EU accession citizens.

The most significant change in this estimate is, however, the inclusion of children born in the UK to illegal immigrants. For the LSE team illegal migrants oscillate between 417,000 and 863,000, including a population of UK-born children ranging between 44,000 and 144,000. Drawing on this and taking stock of the outcome of the recent Case Resolution Programme, [8] a University of Oxford study by Nando Sigona and Vanessa Hughes estimated at the end of 2011 a population of illegal migrant children of 120,000, with over half born in the UK to parents residing without legal immigration status. [9] A Greater London Authority funded study by researchers at the University of Wolverhampton's Institute for Community Research and Development updated these figures in 2020, and estimated that the figure in April 2017 was between 594,000 and 745,000 [5] including between 191,000 and 241,000 children. [5]

Definitions

According to the House of Commons Library, several definitions for a migrant exist in United Kingdom so that a migrant can be:

Illegal immigrants in the UK include those who have:

Political reaction

Migration Watch UK, is a think-tank opposed to immigration. [14] Migration Watch UK has criticised the Home Office figures for not including the UK-born dependent children of illegal migrants. They suggest the Home Office has underestimated the numbers of illegal migrants by between 15,000 and 85,000. [15]

Jack Dromey, Deputy General of the Transport and General Workers Union and Labour Party treasurer, suggested in May 2006 that there could be around 500,000 illegal workers. He called for a public debate on whether an amnesty should be considered. [16] Former Home Secretary David Blunkett suggested that this might be done once the identity card scheme is rolled out. [17] However the scheme was scrapped due to its widespread unpopularity by the coalition government in 2010.

London Citizens, a coalition of community organisations, is running a regularisation campaign called Strangers into Citizens, backed by figures including the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. [18] Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research suggested that an amnesty would net the government up to £1.038 billion per year in fiscal revenue. [19] However, analysis by MigrationWatch UK suggests that if the migrants granted amnesty were given access to healthcare and other benefits, the net cost to the exchequer would be £5.530 billion annually. [20]

It has since been suggested that to deport all of the irregular migrants from the UK would take 20 years and cost up to £12 billion. [21] former Mayor of London Boris Johnson commissioned a study into a possible amnesty for illegal immigrants, citing larger tax gains within the London area which is considered to be home to the majority of the country's population of such immigrants. [22]

In February 2008, the government introduced new £10,000 fines for employers found to be employing illegal immigrants where there is negligence on the part of the employer, with unlimited fines or jail sentences for employers acting knowingly. [23]

In July 2013, the Home Office introduced an advertising lorry in London with its billboard saying "In the UK illegally? — GO HOME OR FACE ARREST — Text HOME to 78070 for free advice, and help with travel documents. We can help you return home voluntarily without fear of arrest or detention." This campaign was criticised from various quarters: Vince Cable, a prominent minister in the governing coalition, called it "stupid and offensive"; [24] some on the left said that "go home" evoked an old National Front slogan. [25] Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party criticised the campaign as "nasty" and suggested that its real message was "Please don’t vote UKIP, we’re doing something". [26]

In 2015 the newly elected Conservative Government announced it would be requiring Landlords to confirm the immigration status of tenants. Those failing to do so, or knowingly or unknowingly housing illegal immigrants could face criminal prosecution. This policy is called "Right to Rent", part of the Hostile Environment.

In 2015 a large number of migrants had set up a camp at Calais in the hope of entering the UK illegally, although there have always been some migrants entering the UK illegally from here many illegal migrants or asylum seekers try to enter the UK from France, by hiding inside trucks or trains and they've done so for years. [27] This sparked a large political debate in the UK. The UK government responded by funding additional security measures in Calais including a £7 million fence to prevent migrants entering the UK.

Channel migrants

There is significant public concern about irregular immigrants coming on small boats from France even though they are not doing anything illegal. The UN convention on refugees permits entry by an illegal route. There are between 594,000 and 745,000 immigrants in UK, with approximately 45,000 people having arrived on small boats in the calendar year 2022 [28] In the year ending March 2023, almost half of small boat arrivals were from 2 nationalities - Albanians (28%) and Afghans (20%) [29]

On 18 July 2023, the United Nations criticized the UK's Illegal Migration Bill for violating international law and endangering refugees. The bill aims to curb boat arrivals and transfer migrants to countries like Rwanda, despite concerns over Rwanda's safety status. [30] Simon Murray, the undersecretary of state for the Home Office, defended the bill, saying the nation's asylum system and budget were overwhelmed and that removing the possibility of staying in the U.K. is the only way to prevent smugglers from exploiting would-be migrants.Some individuals argue that allowing asylum seekers to make an application before travelling to the UK would make the people smugglers' services redundant, however this application would not result in the creation of alternative, legal routes not involving smugglers. [31]

Deaths

A report in 2020 found that almost 300 people had died crossing the English Channel irregularly on boats in the twenty years prior. [32] In October 2019 in a single incident, 39 migrants from Vietnam suffocated together in a lorry trailer travelling from Belgium to Essex. The Vietnamese leader of the smuggling gang was jailed in Belgium while a Romanian smuggler of the ring was sentenced at the Old Bailey. [33] [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People smuggling</span> Illegal transportation of people

People smuggling, under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents".

Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom, controlled by British immigration law and to an extent by British nationality law, has been significant, in particular from the Republic of Ireland and from the former British Empire, especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Since the accession of the UK to the European Communities in the 1970s and the creation of the EU in the early 1990s, immigrants relocated from member states of the European Union, exercising one of the European Union's Four Freedoms. In 2021, since Brexit came into effect, previous EU citizenship's right to newly move to and reside in the UK on a permanent basis does not apply anymore. A smaller number have come as asylum seekers seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention.

Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention refers to the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorized arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migration Watch UK</span> British think-tank and campaign group

Migration Watch UK is a British think-tank and campaign group which argues for lower immigration into the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, the group believes that international migration places undue demand on limited resources and that the current level of immigration is not sustainable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal immigration to the United States</span> Immigration to the United States in violation of US law

Foreign nationals (aliens) can violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully or lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole, or temporary protected status. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.

African immigrants in Europe are individuals residing in Europe who were born in Africa. This includes both individuals born in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Illegal residence in another country creates the risk of detention, deportation, and/or other sanctions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to Greece</span> Overview of immigration to Greece

Immigration to Greece percentage of foreign populations in Greece is 7.1% in proportion to the total population of the country. Moreover, between 9 and 11% of the registered Greek labor force of 4.4 million are foreigners. Migrants additionally make up 25% of wage and salary earners.

Strangers into Citizens was a political advocacy campaign from February 2007 to May 2010 by the former Citizen Organising Foundation, also known as the London Citizens, an organisation that became defunct after merging with Citizens UK into separate local chapters. The campaign called for irregular and extraordinary general amnesty, regularisation, naturalisation, and British citizenship for illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom. The campaign became defunct in 2013.

Colombians in the United Kingdom or Colombian Britons include British citizens or residents who are of Colombian ancestry. According to the 2011 UK Census, the Colombian-born population of England was 25,016, Wales 166, Scotland 507 and Northern Ireland 72.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to South Africa</span> Overview of immigration to South Africa

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal entry</span> Act of entering a country in violation of its laws

Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law. Human smuggling is the practice of aiding people in crossing international borders for financial gain, often in large groups. Human smuggling is associated with human trafficking. A human smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is usually free. Trafficking involves physical force, fraud, or deception to obtain and transport people, usually for enslavement or forced prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African immigration to Israel</span> Movement from Africa to Israel of people that are not natives or Israeli citizens

African immigration to Israel is the international movement to Israel from Africa of people that are not natives or do not possess Israeli citizenship in order to settle or reside there. This phenomenon began in the second half of the 2000s, when a large number of people from Africa entered Israel, mainly through the then-lightly fenced border between Israel and Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula. According to the data of the Israeli Interior Ministry, 26,635 people arrived illegally in this way by July 2010, and over 55,000 by January 2012. In an attempt to curb the influx, Israel constructed the Egypt–Israel barrier. Since its completion in December 2013, the barrier has almost completely stopped the immigration of Africans into Israel across the Sinai border.

Illegal immigration to Australia is defined by the Migration Act 1958, which distinguishes between "lawful non-citizens" and "unlawful non-citizens".

Albanians in the United Kingdom include immigrants from Albania and ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. According to estimates from the Office for National Statistics, there were 47,000 Albanian-born residents of the United Kingdom in 2019.

United Kingdom immigration law is the law that relates to who may enter, work in and remain in the United Kingdom. There are many reasons as to why people may migrate; the three main reasons being seeking asylum, because their home countries have become dangerous, people migrating for economic reasons and people migrating to be reunited with family members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 European migrant crisis</span> 2010s migrant crisis in the European Union

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2015 European migrant crisis</span>

This is a timeline of the European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016.

An increasing number of refugees and migrants have been entering the United Kingdom illegally by crossing the English Channel in the last decades. The Strait of Dover section between Dover in England and Calais in France represents the shortest sea crossing, and is a long-established shipping route. The shortest distance across the strait, at approximately 20 miles, is from the South Foreland, northeast of Dover in the English county of Kent, to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near to Calais in the French département of Pas-de-Calais.

Externalization describes the efforts of wealthy, developed countries to prevent asylum seekers and other migrants from reaching their borders, often by enlisting third countries or private entities. Externalization is used by Australia, Canada, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. Although less visible than physical barriers at international borders, externalization controls or restrict mobility in ways that are out of sight and far from the country's border. Examples include visa restrictions, sanctions for carriers who transport asylum seekers, and agreements with source and transit countries. Consequences often include increased irregular migration, human smuggling, and border deaths.

References

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