Will there be an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the U.K.?
The new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sparked much debate after speaking in the House of Commons about an amnesty for as many as 400,000 illegal immigrants living in the U.K. Giving the Windrush scandal as an example, he spoke about the difficulties that can be caused by a mass expulsion of people who “may have been living and working here for many, many years without being involved in any criminal activity at all”.
He added: “We need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time, unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes without documents.”
He also confirmed that Theresa May’s net migration target of 100,000 a year would be abolished.
The PM advocated the idea of an amnesty back in 2008 when he was the Mayor of London, but did not receive enough support for it. Back then he said that anyone who had been living in the capital for more than five years could show their “commitment to this society” and be given the right to stay so they could then pay taxes.
However, critics warn that an amnesty could open the floodgates and encourage future illegality.
This will certainly be a topic very closely followed by many and with Brexit on the horizon, the topic of Immigration is headline news!