Mediaboss Marketing

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on our New Plan for Immigration.

The government has taken back control of legal immigration by ending free movement and introducing a points-based immigration system.

We are now addressing the challenge of illegal immigration - head on.

I am introducing the most significant overhaul of our asylum system in decades.

A new, comprehensive, fair but firm, long-term plan.

Because while people are dying, we have a responsibility to act.

People are dying - at sea, in lorries and in shipping containers - having put their lives in the hands of criminal gangs that facilitate illegal journeys to the UK.

To stop the deaths, we must stop the trade in people that cause them.

Our society is enriched by legal immigration.

We celebrate those who have come to the UK lawfully and helped build Britain. We always will.

Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world - more than any EU country.

Welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion.

And created a pathway to citizenship to enable over five million people in Hong Kong to come to the UK.

Nobody can say that the British public are not fair or generous when it comes to helping those in need.

But the British public also recognise that for too long parts of the immigration system have been open to abuse.

At the heart of our New Plan for Immigration is a simple principle: fairness.

Access to the UKs asylum system should be based on need, not the ability to pay people smugglers.

If you enter illegally from a safe country like France where you should and could have claimed asylum, you are not seeking refuge from persecution as is the intended purpose of the asylum system.

Instead, you are choosing the UK as your preferred destination.

And you are doing so at the expense of those with nowhere else to go.

Our system is collapsing under the pressure of parallel illegal routes to asylum, facilitated by criminal smugglers.

The existence of parallel routes is deeply unfair, advancing those with the means to pay smugglers over those in desperate need.

The capacity of our asylum system is not unlimited.

And so the presence of economic migrants which these illegal routes introduce, limits our ability to properly support others in genuine need of protection.

This is manifestly unfair to those desperately waiting to be resettled in the UK.

And it is not fair to the British people either; whose taxes pay for vital public services and an asylum system which has skyrocketed in cost now costing over 1 billion pounds this year.

There were more than 32,000 attempts tried to enter the UK illegally in 2019.

With 8,500 people arriving by small boat in 2020.

Of those, 87% were men, 74% were aged between 18-39.

We should ask ourselves, where are the vulnerable women and children that this system should exist to protect?

The system is becoming overwhelmed 109,000 claims are sitting in the asylum queue 52,000 awaiting an initial asylum decision. Almost three quarters of those waiting a year or more.

42,000 failed asylum seekers have not left the country, despite having their claim refused.

The persistent failure to enforce our immigration laws, with a system that is open to gaming by economic migrants and exploitation by criminals, is eroding public trust, and disadvantaging vulnerable people who need our help.

Which is why our New Plan for Immigration is driven by three fair but firm objectives:

First. To increase the fairness of our system so we can protect and support those in genuine need of asylum.

Second. To deter illegal entry into the UK breaking the business model of people smugglers and protecting the lives of those they endanger.

Third. To remove more easily from the UK, those with no right to be here.

Let me take each in turn, Mr Speaker.

First. We will continue to provide safe refuge to those in need strengthening support for those arriving through safe and legal routes.

People coming to the UK through resettlement routes will be granted indefinite leave to remain.

They will receive more support to learn English, find work and integrate.

And I will also act to help those who have suffered injustices.

By amending British Nationality Law so that members of the Windrush Generation will be able to obtain British citizenship more easily.

Second. This plan marks a step change in our approach as we toughen our stance to deter illegal entry and the criminals that endanger life by enabling it.

Many illegal arrivals have travelled through a safe country like France to get to the UK where they could and should have claimed asylum.

We must act to reduce the pull factors of our system and disincentivise illegal entry.

For the first time, whether people enter the UK legally or illegally will have an impact on how their asylum claim progresses, and on their status in the UK if that claim is successful.

We will deem their claim as inadmissible, and make every effort to remove those who enter the UK illegally having travelled through a safe country first in which they could and should have claimed asylum.

Only where removal is not possible, will those who have successful claims having entered illegally receive a new temporary protection status.

This is not an automatic right to settle, they will be regularly reassessed for removal, and will include limited access to benefits, and limited family reunion rights. Our tough new stance will also include:

New maximum life sentences for people smugglers and facilitators.

New rules to stop unscrupulous people posing as children.

And strengthen enforcement powers for Border Force.

Third. We will seek to rapidly remove those with no right to be here in the UK.

Establishing a fast-track appeals process.

Streamlining the appeals system and making quicker removal decisions for failed asylum seekers and dangerous foreign criminals.

We will tackle the practice of meritless claims which clog up the courts with last minute claims and appeals.

A fundamental unfairness that lawyers tell me frustrates them too.

Because for too long our justice system has been gamed.

Almost three quarters of migrants in detention raised last-minute new claims, challenges or other issues with over eight in ten of these eventually being denied as valid reasons to stay in the UK.

Enough is enough.

Our new plan sets out a one-stop process to require all claims to be made upfront.

No more endless meritless claims to frustrate removal. No more stalling justice.

Our new system will be faster and fairer and will help us better support the most vulnerable.

Mr Speaker, our new plan builds on the work already done to take back control of our borders.

Building a system that upholds our reputation as a country where criminality is not rewarded, but which is a haven for those in need.

There are no quick fixes, or shortcuts to success.

But this long-term plan, pursued doggedly, will fix our broken system.

We know that members of the Opposition would prefer a different plan, one that embraces the idea of Open Borders.

Many of them were reluctant to end Free Movement.

With members opposite on record as having said that all immigration controls are racist or sexist.

And to those who say we lack compassion, I simply say, while people are dying we must act to deter these journeys.

And if you dont like our plan, where is yours?

This government promised to take a common-sense approach to controlling immigration legal and illegal and we will deliver on that promise.

The UK is playing its part to tackle the inhumanity of illegal migration, and today I will press for global action at the G6.

I commend this statement to the House

More:
Home Secretary's statement on the New Plan for Immigration - GOV.UK

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Thursday introduced a bill that would prohibit detained illegal aliens from being freely released into the United States without at least receiving a court date.

Due to the surge of migrants at the southwest border and overcrowding at detention facilities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has started to release migrants, who have illegally entered the country before claiming asylum, without issuing a Notice to Appear (NTA) in immigration court for a hearing. An NTA provides illegal migrants with a date and time certain to appear before an immigration judge and plead their case for asylum.

Tubervilles legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue an NTA for removal proceedings to any migrant who has illegally entered the U.S. prior to releasing them into the country or granting parole.

A release from Tubervilles office underscored that releasing illegal migrants from detention without an NTA runs counter to the spirit and letter of the law and erodes the integrity of Americas immigration system. By not providing an NTA, the government loses control over who is being released into the United States and deprives migrants of the opportunity to make legitimate asylum claims before an immigration judge.

The bill further stipulates that a migrants parole, deferred action or any other immigration status and associated employment authorization will be terminated if they fail to appear for the subsequent hearing after receiving an NTA.

Senators Ted Crux (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Braun (R-IN) and John Barrasso (R-WY) are original cosponsors of Tubervilles bill.

Our facilities at the border are bursting at the seams, and because weve simply run out of space, were releasing illegal migrants into our country with no real accountability, or date to appear in court, stated Alabamas junior senator. At best, it hurts those who come to this country actually looking to plead their asylum case. At worst, its giving free rein into our country for breaking the law.

This bill would prohibit migrants who came into the country illegally from being released into communities without a notice to appear in immigration court, Tuberville concluded. The Biden administration says they want humane and compassionate improvements to our immigration system releasing someone without an NTA is neither. President Biden dismantled the successful policies President Trump put in place, but this bill will help restore integrity in our immigration system.

This comes as Tuberville on Thursday and Friday joins Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Cruz, and other Republican Senators, on a trip to the southern border. The delegation is visiting McAllen, TX, to speak with CBP officers and see firsthand the processing facilities and ports of entry.

RELATED: Tuberville cosponsors Stopping Border Surges Act

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

Read more:
Tuberville introduces bill to bar illegal aliens from receiving 'free pass' into the United States - Yellowhammer News

WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. March 26, 2021: (Reuters) The U.S. government plans in the next 90 days on going after smuggling and trafficking organizations that Washington accuses of manipulating migrants into heading for the U.S.-Mexico border, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.

The official, who briefed reporters on meetings by U.S. envoys in Mexico City earlier this week, forecast a continuing surge of migrants on the way in spring caravans.

The U.S. and Mexican officials discussed ways to improve U.S.-Mexico border enforcement as well as making sure Central American governments have the resources to help secure Mexicos southern border, the official said on condition of anonymity.

We see a convergence of interests, the official said.

The official added a particular emphasis for the U.S. government in the next three months was going after trafficking organizations and smuggling organizations. You have organizations that are miscommunicating the immigration policies of the United States and for a profit.

President Joe Biden said he would not apologize for rolling back the hardline immigration policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and brushed off criticism that migrants were making the journey because they perceived him to be a nice guy.

Speaking at his first White House news conference, Biden defended his handling of rising migration. While he mostly struck an empathetic tone, he said the United States was expelling the vast majority of migrants under a COVID-19 public health order but that some families had been allowed in because Mexico would not accept their return.

He said the United States was in talks with Mexico for that country to take back more migrant families, many of whom are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.

Asked to expand on Bidens comment, the administration official did not cite any specific progress made on Mexico accepting more migrant families, but stressed that the two countries were working together on the issue.

El Salvadors Congress, meanwhile, approved a special law against human trafficking later on Thursday, establishing harsher prison sentences for smugglers known as coyotes of between eight and 12 years, compared with six to ten years previously.

The law also marks the first time the Central American country would punish the organizers of migrant caravans bound for the United States, making it a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

U.S. administration officials said a visit to Guatemala by White House senior Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez and Northern Triangle envoy Ricardo Zuniga, which was called off this week due to a volcanic eruption, would be rescheduled and they would soon hold a virtual meeting with Guatemalan leaders.

Biden on Wednesday named Vice President Kamala Harris to lead U.S. efforts with Mexico and Central Americas Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to try to stem the flow of migration to the United States.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; additional reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)

Link:
US To Target Smuggling, Trafficking Organizations On Illegal Immigration - Caribbean and Latin America Daily News - News Americas

Here we go again. Its another tough immigration statement from the Home Secretary, Priti Patel. This was the latest in a line of orationsshes made on this subject since assuming her post in July 2019. By my calculations, her rhetoric has been ramped up roughly in proportion to the number of illegal entrants to Britain. From advanced drone technology in the English Channel to life prison sentences for traffickers, every utterance has been met with applause from Conservative commentators. Yet the fact is that nothing ever changes. Todays statement promised action on deportations and a firm but fair way for genuine asylum seekers to enter the United Kingdom. Has a solution been found at last?

The trade in trafficked people crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies has soared over the last few years. Last year, at least 8,400 people made the trip and these are just the ones who were caught. Though it has not attracted a great deal of publicity so far this year, 2021s numbers are on course to exceed last years. Indeed, more illegal immigrants came into Dover on March 21 than arrived in the whole of March last year.

There are some notable differences. The first is that many more illegal immigrants this year have come from Vietnam. Perhaps they were shocked by the appalling deaths of the 39 people found in a refrigerated lorry trailer at Tilbury Docks in Essex in October 2019 and now believe the Channel route to be safer. The second most significant change is in the boats themselves. Last year there would be on average about 12 people to a vessel. Now, there are often 20 or even 30 people per raft. The boats appear to be getting bigger with every month that passes.

Will the threat of being denied the right to remain in Britain and being refused 38 a week courtesy of British taxpayers deter illegal immigrants from coming? Personally, I doubt it. Those who do arrive know they will still be housed and fed and given access to NHS treatment if required. They also know they will be able to enter the illegal economy pretty easily. Deportation would only be a disincentive if those paying the traffickers thought that the number being sent back would rise above its current tiny percentage.

There has been some talk lately about stopping lefty lawyers from disrupting the removals process at the last moment. What the Home Secretary did not mention today is that despite Brexit, the UK remains subject to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. For as long as the European Convention on Human Rights continues to have legal force in this country, these last-minute legal challenges will be made and will probably succeed. I dont doubt Patel would like to tackle this particular issue, but I dont envisage her managing to persuade her boss, Boris Johnson, of the urgent need to do so.

Opinion polling suggests that immigration is only half as important to the public in 2021 as it was at the time of the referendum in 2016, something which Patel mentioned at the start of her speech. Yet, if this perception is even accurate, it almost certainly exists only because many voters believe that the referendum result and the loudly trumpeted ending of free movement in Europe somehow solved the problem. The truth is that illegal immigration by dinghy across the English Channel still resonates very strongly with Conservative voters and todays proposals will barely make a scrap of difference.

It is important to add that there is another immigration debate that has not yet been aired fully or frankly. It relates to legal immigration, which continues to rise and may be on the verge of rocketing. The reason for its growth is clear: the very large number of people who live in Hong Kong and who now have a form of a British passport. Applications for these documents opened just a few weeks ago and 27,000 people have already made clear that they want to settle here. The government estimates that 300,000 people will relocate to the UK from the former British colony in the next few years. Others think it could be an even greater number.

The question must be asked: is this wise - or responsible? Our economy has been battered by 12 months of covid restrictions. It is going to take many years to recover, and nobody knows what the lasting damage will be. What is known is that a rapidly rising population tends to lower most peoples standard of living. Inflicting this on the country during a time of such trouble may cost the Conservative Party dear.

The rest is here:
Has a solution to Britain's illegal immigration problem been found at last? I have my doubts - Telegraph.co.uk

The issue of an increasing number of young migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border viewed by many as a crisis has caught voters attention, and appears to be exacerbating concerns about Americas security.

According to the latest Morning Consult/Politico poll, 15 percent of voters identified security issues including border security, terrorism and foreign policy as their top set of federal concerns, up 4 percentage points since President Joe Biden took office in late January. The movement was driven largely by Republican voters, 27 percent of whom now say security is their top priority up 5 points over the past two weeks.

The migrant surge has gained prominence in the national media as the conversation in Washington moved past the haggling over the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislation. By the time the March 19-22 survey was conducted, 40 percent of voters said they had seen, read or heard a lot about the increasing number of child migrants arriving at the southern border more than those who said the same of former President Donald Trumps last-hour pardon spree earlier this year, but fewer than the share of voters who heard a lot about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot or Bidens signing of the coronavirus package.

Still, the developments yielded one of the years largest partisan divides on self-reported news consumption where Republicans were more likely to hear about a story, mirroring other immigration-related developments. While Democrats are generally more likely than Republicans to report hearing about a wide array of news events in Morning Consult/Politico polls, the reversal in this case reflects the storys salience among GOP officials and conservative media.

Just a third of Democratic voters said they had heard a lot about the migrant surge, compared with half of Republicans. The partisan split is nearly identical to the salience of news about Dr. Seuss Enterprises decision to pull books from publication due to use of racist imagery a part of the GOPs push to elevate cultural issues as Biden was advancing his popular COVID-19 proposal on Capitol Hill.

While the bulk of Democratic voters say they have not heard a lot about the recent migrant surge which has resulted in a large number of young asylum seekers being held in government facilities just 15 percent said theyve heard nothing at all regarding the negative situation unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border. Still, as Democratic leaders and the White House resist using the word crisis, opinions on the extent of the problem largely differ between the parties.

A plurality of Democrats (48 percent) said the United States is facing a problem with illegal immigration, compared with 74 percent of Republicans who dubbed the issue a crisis. Overall, half of voters said the United States is facing a crisis, while a third called it a problem.

The divide between the two parties on what to call the issue at the U.S.-Mexico border recalls Morning Consult/Politico polling conducted in April 2019, when the Trump administration was facing its own border challenges. At the time, 44 percent of voters including 19 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans said the United States was facing a crisis. The 2019 survey was conducted around the time that the Customs and Border Protection data showed the United States was experiencing a surge of migration similar to the size of the one currently facing the country and one that would go on to grow larger into the summer.

Amid the increase in migration, voters are now also increasingly prioritizing congressional action on immigration: 39 percent in the latest poll said passage of an immigration reform bill should be a top priority, up 9 points since a survey conducted at the beginning of March.

But as with other major issues facing the country, Democrats currently have an advantage, albeit a slim one: Their proposals to deal with young migrants and provide a pathway to citizenship for those residing in the United States illegally are generally popular, and when it comes to whom voters trust more on Capitol Hill to handle the issue, Bidens party has a 5-point lead over the GOP, 43 percent to 38 percent.

Read this article:
Talk of a Border Crisis Is Breaking Through to Voters, Elevating Immigration and Security Concerns - Morning Consult