Illegal migrants may get amnesty
BRITAIN: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson yesterday challenged Prime Minister Theresa May in Cabinet to introduce an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the wake of the Windrush scandal.
Johnson told the Cabinet there needed to be a ‘‘broader’’ amnesty for those from Commonwealth nations and elsewhere, provided they were ‘‘squeaky clean’’ and did not have criminal records.
There is a growing debate in Government over the treatment of migrants in the wake of the Windrush immigration fiasco, with Johnson among several Cabinet ministers urging a more liberal approach.
Earlier this week the Government announced an effective amnesty for Windrush migrants who arrived in Britain between
1948 and 1971 after it emerged they were being threatened with deportation.
Johnson argued this now needed to be extended to all illegal immigrants who had lived in the UK for more than a decade and not committed crimes, including those from Commonwealth nations such as India, Pakistan, Kenya and Ghana.
It is understood the approach could lead to between 500,000 and
700,000 migrants being given the right to stay permanently in the UK.
A Cabinet source said May responded by highlighting previous calls by Johnson for amnesties of illegal immigrants during the EU referendum campaign and when he was mayor of London. Then Johnson said that introducing an amnesty was the ‘‘humane’’ thing to do and would increase the amount of tax that the Government collects because illegal migrants in the UK would move away from the black economy.
May, however, said when she was home secretary that the approach would send the ‘‘wrong message’’, adding that people feel illegal immigration is ‘‘very clearly wrong’’.
Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, will face questions over the status of other Commonwealth migrants when she appears before the home affairs select committee.
She is expected to reiterate her desire to put things right and apologise again for the mistakes which led some Windrush migrants to receive deportation letters.
The Home Office is working to find out if anyone has been forcibly removed from the UK over the scandal by going back through its records which span decades.
It comes amid Cabinet tensions over the prime minister’s plans for a customs partnership with the EU.
May was accused of ‘‘burying her head in the sand’’ after it emerged that the Brexit ‘‘war cabinet’’ would not discuss the customs deal this week. The issue is instead expected to be debated next week.
Senior Eurosceptics including Johnson, David Davis, Liam Fox and Michael Gove have raised concerns that a customs partnership is ‘‘unworkable’’ and will ultimately lead to a climbdown on Brexit. –