U.K. to tighten immigration policy

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 12. Britain is expected to have a more ``controlled'' immigration policy designed to keep out illegal immigrants while ensuring that the country's skills shortages are met by legitimate means. The new Home Secretary, Mr. David Blunkett, is reported to be toying with various ideas to give immigration a humane face, and one of these is the U.S. style ``green card'' system which would make identification of legal migrant workers easier.

A ``shake-up'' of the existing work permit scheme is believed to be on the cards to make it less vulnerable to abuse. There is also talk of a quota regime pegged to the estimated needs of various job sectors but details, it is reported, are yet to be worked out. ``We will look at connecting the work system to ensure that it supports the needs of the economy, providing a controlled but legal route for people who seek work to fill the skills shortages in our country'', Mr. Blunkett has said.

In his first public statement on the controversial asylum/immigration debate, Mr. Blunkett promised a crackdown on ``gang masters who trade in illegal immigration''. The idea, he argued, was to protect job and asylum seekers from being exploited by unscrupulous elements. His remarks came in the wake of a lingering controversy over asylum seekers with the Tories accusing the Blair Government of turning Britain into a ``soft touch'' for illegal immigrants. Most of the nearly 70,000 people who sought asylum in Britain last year are believed to have entered the country illegally - mostly dumped on British shores by well-organised gangs.

While the Tory campaign on asylum did not work during the recent election, the xenophobic sentiment is widespread, according to several studies, and refugees have complained of hostility from local communities. Mr. Blunkett's tough talk is seen partly as a bid to blunt the Tory propaganda that Labour is ``soft'' on the issue and partly as a genuine response to a problem which has haunted successive British Governments. Commentators say that the ``challenge'' before the Government is to reconcile the demand for skills which are not available at home with the need to curb illegal immigration. According to a study, Britain needs one million overseas workers every year in view of the country's ageing population. Besides, there are areas - both highly specialised and unskilled - where there is an acute shortage of workers.

A report by Dr. Vaughan Robinson, head of the migration unit at the University of Wales, quoted in The Daily Telegraph says that foreign workers filled gaps in the labour market rather than took jobs from Britons. The widespread belief that foreigners deprived the natives of their jobs has been found to be misleading. The report also refutes the view that immigrants are a drain on the British economy. It says they pay an estimated 10 per cent more into the economy than what it got back in terms of social benefits.

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Section  : International
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