CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION

Transcription

1 CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION

2 LIMITED, CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION: PROPOSALS FOR A FIRM BUT FAIR ASYLUM SYSTEM FOREWORD I believe that we must limit immigration. There are literally millions of people in other countries who would like to come and settle here. Britain cannot take them all. Immigration has more than doubled under Mr Blair. He believes that immigration should be unlimited. The Liberal Democrats agree. A Conservative Government will set an annual limit to immigration and a quota for asylum seekers. We will put in place 24-hour security at ports to prevent illegal immigration. We will introduce an Australian-style points system for work permits giving priority to people with the skills Britain needs. These policies will reduce immigration. For centuries Britain has welcomed people from around the world. I know. My family was among them. Our country has a proud tradition of giving refuge to people genuinely fleeing persecution. And we have always offered a home to families who want to work hard and contribute to our society. Britain is a stronger and more successful country because of the immigrant communities that settle here. But we have reached a turning point. Our communities simply cannot absorb newcomers at today s pace. Immigration must be brought under control. Some people say it s racist to want to limit immigration. It s not. It is common sense. Firm but fair immigration controls are essential for good community relations, the maintenance of national security and the management of public services. Only my party has the courage to tell the truth about immigration, and the courage to act. People will face a clear choice at the next election: unlimited immigration under Mr Blair or limited, controlled immigration with the Conservatives. MICHAEL HOWARD 1

3 1. Labour: Unlimited Immigration Mr Blair has presided over an unprecedented rise in immigration. Immigration has more than doubled since he took office with virtually no public consultation whatsoever. Labour believe that there is no obvious upper limit to legal immigration (David Blunkett, BBC TV, Newsnight, 12 November 2003). For the last six years total net immigration to the UK has averaged 157,000 a year (Source: ONS). In other words, a city the size of Peterborough is being established in the UK every year. According to the Government s own predictions, Britain s population will increase by 6.1 million more over the next thirty years: that is the equivalent of six times the population of Birmingham. Immigration will account for 84 per cent of the increase (roughly five million people). Population increases of this kind have important public policy implications, which no responsible political party could (or should) ignore. As the Government s own Community Cohesion Panel, which was set up after the Bradford riots, said last July: Housing, education, health and other services all take time to expand. But people also take time to adjust. The identity of the host community will be challenged and they need sufficient time to come to terms with and accommodate incoming groups, regardless of their ethnic origin The pace of change (for a variety of reasons) is simply too great in such areas at present (The End of Parallel Lives, July 2004). Because Mr Blair does not believe in limiting immigration, he has allowed Britain s system to fall into disarray. Work permits have been given to people whose claims government officials knew to be fraudulent. Companies are rarely, if ever, successfully prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants. In the last three years, there have been only nine prosecutions and three convictions (Hansard, 10 January 2005, Col. 308). In an age of global terrorism, the Government has no idea who is coming into or leaving our country. This poses a serious risk to Britain s security. Britain s asylum system has become chaotic and unfair. It is unfair to genuine refugees. Because refugees can only claim asylum on arrival in Britain, many have to enter the country illegally. This leaves them at the mercy of people smugglers and criminal gangs. 2

4 The UK takes more than her fair share of the world s refugees. According to the UNHCR, in the first half of 2004 Britain was second only to France as the most popular destination for asylum seekers in the world (UNHCR, Asylum Level and Trends in Industrialised Countries, January to June 2004). In 2003 Britain took about 13 per cent of all claims made in the industrialised world (60,000 out of 460,000). It is out of control. Failed asylum seekers are rarely removed. Fewer than one in four failed asylum seekers are recorded as being removed or departing voluntarily. It is estimated that there are over a quarter of a million failed asylum seekers now living somewhere in Britain today. 2. The Conservative Approach: An Australian-style Annual Limit While immigration plays a part in creating a competitive and dynamic modern economy, Conservatives believe that it cannot continue at its present, uncontrolled levels. Immigration needs to be limited. Firm but fair immigration controls are essential for the maintenance of good race relations, national security and the management of public services. As Michael Howard said last year: Britain has reached a turning point. As a country we need to adopt a totally new approach to immigration and asylum. We need a system that helps genuine refugees and gives priority to those who want to come to Britain, work hard and make a positive contribution (London, 22 September 2004). A Conservative Government will set an annual maximum limit on the number who can settle in Britain, including a quota for asylum seekers. We will put in place 24- hour security at ports to prevent illegal immigration. We will introduce an Australianstyle points system for work permits giving priority to people with the skills Britain needs. Our proposals will create a fairer, more effective asylum and immigration system. They will substantially reduce the number of people settling in the UK. And they will ensure that Britain moves forward as a confident, diverse and united society. There are three main streams of immigration to the UK work permits, family reunion and asylum. Today s announcement and the remainder of this document - covers asylum. People will face a clear choice at the next election: unlimited immigration under Mr Blair or limited, controlled immigration with the Conservatives. 3

5 3. Asylum Today Britain s asylum system today is a chaotic shambles. Why? First, the majority of people who claim asylum in the UK are not genuine refugees. Only 2 in 10 applicants are actually granted asylum, while less than another 2 in 10 are granted permission to stay ( Exceptional Leave to Remain or Humanitarian Protection ). According to Home Office figures three-quarters of the people seeking asylum in Europe do not meet the criteria of full refugees (Home Office Press Release, 27 March 2003). ASYLUM DECISIONS Asylum granted initially 11% Asylum granted on appeal 11% Failed - not removed 49% Leave to remain granted 15% Failed - removed 14% (Source: Derived from UK Asylum Statistics, ). Second, the majority of failed asylum seekers are not removed. Just over one in five failed asylum applicants are removed by the authorities. There are now over 250,000 failed asylum seekers who have not been recorded as having left Britain (UK Asylum Statistics ). Failure to remove rejected asylum applicants encourages more people to claim asylum falsely. People who are not genuine asylum seekers know that even if their claim is rejected, they are likely to be allowed to stay in the UK. In his 2001 Election Manifesto Mr Blair promised that: Asylum seekers and their dependants whose claims are rejected will be removed from Britain with the aim of more than 30,000 in 2003/4. 4

6 But he has failed to deliver on that commitment. The number of asylum seekers removed in 2003 was just 17, per cent short of Mr Blair s own target. In 2004, the number of people being removed on a month by month basis actually fell to just over 1,000 a month. REMOVALS OF FAILED ASYLUM APPLICANTS 2004 Removals of failed asylum seekers in Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep In September Mr Blair announced another target for removals effectively setting it at a level of 24,000 a year, 6,000 less than he had promised in Third, the number of people claiming asylum in the UK has increased dramatically since Mr Blair took office. Asylum is a significant contributor to net UK immigration accounting for about a quarter of the total number of people that settle here each year. When Labour were elected the number of asylum seekers was falling down from 43,965 in 1995 to 29,640 in 1996 thanks to the measures Michael Howard took as Home Secretary. But Mr Blair decided to reverse these reforms. As a result, the number of applications for asylum rose sharply peaking at 84,130 in 2001 (this figure does not include dependants). 5

7 ASYLUM APPLICATIONS ,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, In 1997, Mr Blair discontinued the Conservative policy of denying benefits to people who failed to claim asylum as soon as they entered the UK. In Opposition, Jack Straw had described the policy as profoundly unfair (BBC Radio 4, Today Programme, 13 January 1996). This rule contributed to a significant fall in the number of asylum seekers (roughly a third) in But it was struck down by the courts in Mr Straw chose not to challenge that court ruling. Mr Blair s 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act repealed the list of designated countries from which virtually no asylum claims would be accepted. Mr Straw had said in opposition that Labour would have no truck with [this] racist legislation (BBC Radio 4, Today Programme, 26 October 1995). Mr Blair failed to maintain the agreement which Michael Howard had made with the French Government. This allowed Britain to return asylum seekers who had arrived from France within 24 hours. In the last year the number of asylum seekers has begun to fall. Why? First, the Government restored the right of officials to withhold benefit from failed asylum seekers and those who fail to claim asylum within a reasonable time after their arrival in Britain (a measure now suspended pending a court decision). It has also reintroduced the list of designated countries, which it had previously criticised so vehemently and abolished. Second, asylum applications have been falling across Europe. In 2003 they fell by about 20 per cent and, based on the first three quarters of 2004, there is likely to have been a further 20 per cent drop in applications in 2004 (Source: UNHCR). 6

8 Third, anecdotal evidence suggests that the fall has been in part due to a decision not to pursue illegal immigrants in order to meet Mr Blair s target of halving asylum applications by September 2003 (The Sunday Times, 4 April 2004). Illegal immigrants often claim asylum once they are discovered. Senior immigration officials have been reported in the media saying that: Arrests have been discouraged. Managers have been told that we must be mindful not to increase the [asylum] intake (The Sunday Times, 24 August 2003). Yet despite the recent fall, asylum applications in 2003 were still 65 per cent higher than in 1996 (Source: Control of Immigration Statistics). Even in the first three quarters of 2004, Britain received more asylum applications than almost any other industrialised country including Germany and the USA. According to the UNHCR Britain was second only to France as the most popular destination for asylum seekers in the world in this period (UNHCR, Asylum Level and Trends in Industrialised Countries, January to June 2004). In 2003 Britain took about 13 per cent of all claims made in the industrialised world (60,000 out of 460,000). Furthermore, Britain s approach to asylum is supporting the international trade in people smuggling. Only people who can actually get to Britain are considered for asylum. In most cases this involves a long, dangerous, illegal and expensive journey at the hands of criminal gangs. Genuine refugees who cannot afford or are not able to endure that journey are simply unable to apply. It is for this reason that the vast majority of people who claim asylum in Britain are young men. In 2003 two-thirds (69 per cent) of all asylum applicants in Britain were men and two-thirds (68 per cent) of male applicants were aged (UK Asylum Statistics 2003). As the Home Affairs Select Committee concluded: the asylum seekers who do manage to make a claim in the UK are not representative of the world s wider refugee population they are more likely to be young, male, healthy, educated and with access to significant financial support, and less likely to be old, female, ill, uneducated or poor (Asylum Applications, Second Report, 26 January 2004). It is estimated that: a large proportion of asylum seekers arrive in the UK as the result of illegal people smuggling operations conducted by criminal gangs (Asylum Applications, Second Report, 26 January 2004). These gangs cynical disregard for the welfare of their human cargo was brought into stark relief when 58 Chinese immigrants suffocated in a sealed container in a lorry at Dover in June

9 It later transpired that each of those on board had paid tens of thousands of dollars to Chinese smuggling gangs known as snakeheads to get to the UK. They had travelled from China through Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, France, Holland and Belgium on their way to Britain all countries in which they could have claimed asylum. 4. The Conservative Approach to Asylum Britain has a proud tradition of giving refuge to people fleeing persecution. It is a tradition that the Conservatives are determined to maintain. Britain has a moral obligation to those fleeing persecution. We have a duty to take our fair share of the world s genuine refugees. But immigration must be limited and controlled. There are literally millions of people from other countries who would like to come and settle here. Britain cannot take them all. People should not be able to use the asylum system as a means of circumventing Britain s immigration controls. It is time for a totally new approach to asylum an approach which will enable Britain to fulfil her moral obligation to refugees, while effectively controlling immigration. The current system is inhumane. People can only claim asylum in Britain if they can get here. This forces the vast majority to enter Britain either illegally or by deception fuelling the international trade in people smuggling. The Conservatives are determined to break the link between claiming asylum and coming to the United Kingdom. Breaking that link will smash the criminal gangs who thrive on the immoral trade in people smuggling. Our goal is clear: no longer to consider asylum applications in the UK. Instead Britain will take refugees in the care of the UNHCR. If people continue to try and claim asylum here, they will be taken to one of a small number of centres closer to their region of origin where there claims will be considered. This will clearly take time to implement. So our reform programme will therefore be introduced in four phases. Phase I Restore Control of Asylum to the British Parliament A Conservative Government will give the UN Secretary General 12 months notice of Britain s withdrawal from the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees and the 1967 New York Protocol. The 1951 Convention is increasingly unworkable today. It was designed to give shelter to the small number of Eastern European dissidents who managed to escape from behind the Iron Curtain, not to deal with the challenges of mass migration. As Mr Blair has said: 8

10 The 1951 Convention was drawn up for a vastly different world, in which people did not routinely travel huge distances across multiple borders (The Times, 4 May 2001). The Convention prevents governments taking immediate action to deport asylum seekers whose claims are obviously not genuine. Nearly all applicants irrespective of the merits of their case are entitled to the full process of claim, consideration and appeal. At the same time, a Conservative Government will enter reservations against those parts of the European Convention on Human Rights which would prevent it implementing its asylum reform programme. Phase II Introduce National Legislation Withdrawal from the 1951 Convention will enable a Conservative Government to end the present right of virtually every applicant to go through the full asylum process. National legislation will be introduced to provide considerably greater powers to certify cases as unfounded. This will give the Home Secretary the discretion to sanction the immediate removal of unfounded cases. Applicants would only have non-suspensive rights of appeal that is the appeal would not affect the process of removal. This legislation would apply to those who: - Arrive from a safe third country, designated as such by the British Government; - Claim asylum only when discovered by the authorities; - Have certified on their visa application form (as will be required in future) that they will not claim asylum once in Britain. The Home Secretary will be granted discretion to certify such applications as unfounded; - Are shown to have destroyed their documents or fail, without good reason, to co-operate in their re-documentation; - The Home Secretary considered to be a potential threat to public order or a person likely to incite racial hatred; - Are not being persecuted by a State; or - Have committed a serious offence abroad or in Britain after arrival, including involvement in terrorism (including hijacking), drugs or prostitution. The right of the Home Secretary to remove or detain some of the above classes of asylum seeker is already covered under existing arrangements but this right is not sufficiently enforced. 9

11 New legislation will clarify the classes of asylum seeker whose cases will not be considered and, above all, will make provision for the enforcement of the rules allowing detention and removal. Phase III Detain Potential Security Risks As the number of people falsely claiming asylum falls, we will begin to detain in our existing asylum centres claimants who are found to have no documents at least until their identity has been ascertained. It undermines our national security if people are free to live and move around in Britain without any security checks, simply by virtue of their claim for asylum. This policy will significantly reduce the number of applicants who destroy their documents, as the majority of port applicants now do. Furthermore, the extended use of biometric visas will permit the rapid identification of those who originally had visas but destroyed their documents. These two measures taken together will substantially reduce the numbers that actually require detention. And by deterring the destruction of documents, they will significantly increase Britain s ability to remove people who are not genuine asylum seekers. They will also limit the ability of false claimants to disappear. Phase IV Break the Link between Arrival and Claim Our long term goal is clear no longer to consider asylum claims in the UK. Instead Britain will take genuine refugees in the care of the UNHCR. If people do try to claim asylum here, they will be taken to one of a small number of centres closer to their region of origin where their claims will be processed. A newly elected Conservative Government will immediately open negotiations with a number of overseas governments to establish these centres. These centres will not accept any applications locally and will have both British and local staff. Legal advice will be made available. In the event of a crisis overseas, such as a revolution, the Home Secretary would be able to stipulate that people from the affected country who were already in Britain (working, on holiday or at college) could, exceptionally, have their asylum claims processed in the UK. The Annual Immigration Limit As was made clear in our Timetable for Action, published last October, proposals to control immigration will be introduced in the next Conservative Government s first Queen s Speech. Controlling immigration is a priority for the Conservatives. A Conservative Government will set an annual limit to immigration as soon as the necessary legislation has been passed. An annual limit will provide transparency and accountability. It will ensure that each year there is a debate about the scale of immigration to the UK. 10

12 There will be quotas for the three main categories of immigration. Our programme will reform each category of immigration so as to reduce the numbers settling here. At present about 8,000 genuine refugees claim asylum in Britain every year. The problem has been the large number of false claimants not the number of genuine refugees. By reducing the number of false claimants, it may be possible to accept more than the 8,000 genuine refugees Britain took last year. People will face a clear choice at the election: unlimited immigration under Mr Blair or limited, controlled immigration with the Conservatives. 5. Conclusion This phased approach will, we believe, create a more humane and much fairer system than today s haphazard and chaotic operation. It will ensure that Britain fulfils her moral obligations more effectively than she does today and takes her fair share of the world s refugees. It will undermine the international trade in people smuggling. It will deter claimants who are not genuine refugees. They will no longer be able to come to Britain and claim asylum, secure in the knowledge that even if they are rejected they are unlikely to be removed. By deterring applications which are false, we will be able to deal with genuine refugees far more quickly. If we can successfully eliminate false claimants it may be possible to take a somewhat larger number of genuine refugees than the 8,000 (including their dependants) accepted last year (out of the total 40,000 who applied). People will face a clear choice at the next election: unlimited immigration under Mr Blair or limited immigration with the Conservatives. Promoted by Gavin Barwell on behalf of the Conservative Party, both at 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0DL. Printed by the Conservative Party. 11