General Chat

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Good! If they shouldn't be here, they shouldn't get benefits. If they're illegal, they should be deported. The British tax payer pays for so much rubbish anyway, it's about time we got a break!

Illegal immigrants to be denied benefits 07/03/2007 10:37 LONDON (Reuters) - Illegal immigrants face being denied access to work, benefits and services under a strategy announced by Home Secretary John Reid on Wednesday. Designed to 'block the benefits of Britain' to those in the country illegally, the new measures focus on improving cooperation between government departments, police, local authorities and health care trusts, Reid said. The policy was branded as unrealistic and inhumane by campaigners, who said it threatened to leave up to half a million people destitute and could force many into crime. 'Most people who come to this country wish to comply fully with our immigration laws, but where they don’t we are committed to blocking the benefits and privileges that should only be enjoyed by those here legitimately,' said Reid. Immigration is a crucial issue for voters and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government is fighting an uphill battle to convince the public of its competence in this area after a number of mismanagement crises at the Home Office. The Home Secretary said that the new enforcement drive was based on 'fairness and enforcing the rules' and would allow immigration officials progressively to deny work, benefits and services to those in Britain illegally. Measures include a watch list of illegal immigrants to alert government agencies if someone applies for services to which they are not entitled and workplace enforcement teams to track down bosses employing people who should not be in the country. Landlords could be fined up to 20,000 pounds for housing illegal immigrants in overcrowded flats. Pilot schemes will be set up in three NHS Trusts to use government data to ensure migrants pay for care where required. Opponents said the measures would not help to encourage or enable illegal migrants to return to their home countries, which many of them left because they are riven by human rights abuses, conflict and poverty. The Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) called for the better regulation of immigrants who have been in the country for more than two years, arguing that allowing them to work legally would provide more than 3 billion pounds in tax revenue for the Treasury.

Unbelievable. The Home Office is only just bringing this in NOW?????? This country's government operates in the dark ages, when will they wake up and open their eyes?.

Forgive me if you disagree but I think that has to be the best thing I have heard today! We had to fight tooth and Nail to get any help when OH was being diagnosed as disabled by his illness. Why should they have it so easy when two people who have worked all their life and are part of the indiginous population hind it so verey hard to get help?

And about time,,,why should my tax pay for these parasites

About time too.......

Absolutely right! It's about time this government woke up to the fact that True Brits are fed up with supporting the 'want it on a plate' members of our society. So it's not just immigrants, but benefit fraudsters, criminals, layabouts and scroungers - in fact all those who don't pay their way, - but expect someone elso to foot the bill! I hasten to add that in no way do I object to supporting those in genuine need, through no fault of their own, either from illness, disability or having been truly the subject of terrible things in their own countries. These people we MUST support (there but for the grace of God...) - but let's get rid of the ones who are not genuine. This country cannot go on footing the bill for everyone - we have to draw the line somewhere - and stick to it!

GOOD it makes me laugh the govement want lone parents to go back to work where are the jobs for them there arnt any they are talking crap again the illigell imigrants or refugees have the jobs nobody should have refugee statice in this country it states in the geneva convention they have to go to the nearest boarder of safty to my knoledge we have no countries at war on our boarders let the french have them they send enough of them over here i used to live in kent and they used to arrive by the bus full everyday try sitting in victoria bus station at 5 in the morning you ll see what i mean when the buses arrive full standing room only i m not heartless but enough is enough get the people who are here already back to work before we let anymore in its just common sense if we go to their countries would we be allowed to free load no we would nt i can tell you not in a million years the party who tells the most lies gets in and we fall for it every time whos the mugs us stick a travel ticket back home in their hands and off they pop

The sooner the better............ I see that they are going to be sent text messages to remind them to go..............and have their driving licences withdrawn............. If they are ILLEGAL immigrants, how in the name of sanity do they come to have driving licences? Of course, all the ones who kill and maim our citizens on our roads don't have driving licences, or insurance........................ Reg

i do agree in people suporting their kids i am lucky my partners great but some people arnt that lucky but their is just no jobs for the single parent to do forgien worker fill them as fast as they come up

single parents should go back to work why should we pay for somebody elses children my mum was a single parent worked 2 jobs paid her own mortgage and child care, she didnt have well paid jobs but did have self respect. there is so much help for them free college courses nursery places etc. unless you are unable to work through illness there is no reason why you shoudnt work, the message given to children who parents dont work is its ok to live on benefits. The rubbish that is spouted about children whos both parents go out to work suffer is laughable , it teaches children the values of doing well and self respect as for illegal immigrants as far as i am aware they dont get benefits but vouchers for food, clothing etc I worked as a housing benefit officer, the amount of immigrants claiming benefits was far less than the british born people in this country . lorraine

The only benefit they should be entitled to is a nice warm prison cell. There must be plenty of Scottish islands which we could utilise. The choice should be: stay here in detention indefinitely or go home. Their decision. With up to a million illegal immigrants and bogus asylum seekers in the UK catching a hundred thousand shouldn't be that hard ! I go past Wickes builders merchants in Seven Sisters Road at about 09.00 every morning. There are up to 50 guys hanging about outside waiting for casual work. My bet is that whatever they earn never goes through the tax system. Yet they get all the services that I have paid for since starting work 42 years ago.

Good I am glad they will be denied benefits , when my husband died and I tried to get widows benifit I was told I was to young to become a widow and that I had to be over 45......... there is so much unemployment around and yet in our local paper there was a large piece about how the docks had taken on over 50 forign workers, that might have had the skills they were looking for , but how about training all the local people who want & need jobs...

Immigrants/Asylum Seekers do not get vouchers, they collect their money from the postoffice, it's called an ARC card.

The reason the immigrants get a lot of manual jobs is because they work a lot harder for less money it happened in the 50,s when immigrants were brought over from jamaica and the irish were always hard workers. A lot of polish workers are now being employed on building sites as they work hard for less money. There will always be a shortage of workers in cetain areas and without immigrants these jobs would not be filled there are 100's of jobs in our local paper every week , but because people get everything paid on benefits they wont go to work for a little extra money.. lorraine

Current restrictions on work for legal migrants. Visitors/Tourist...cannot work and connot extend their visas. Workers....have to work for a named, authorised employer. It is a criminal offence to employ a person who does not have valid permission to work in the UK and an employer are expected to ensure a person is eligible for work before employing them. Asylum Seekers........are not allowed to work.

Sorry Monty, but these are illegal immigrants, I don't see why they should be allowed to be an extra drain on our resources. Just my opinion, but this is something I actually agree with, they shouldn't be here! Nanna-Moo ;-(

I agree, too. If they were supposed to be here they wouldn't be called 'Illegal' immigrants, would they? I don't understand the policies of this country at all. If they are here illegally then that surely is a crime? Yes? So instead of just stopping them from getting benefits etc, why are they not deported? The authorities are obviously aware of who are illegal immigrants and where they are living (you need an address don't you, to claim benefits?). It just doesn't make any sense to me. It is not all immigrants I am against - many are here on a legal and fair basis - I mean, my own father came here from Cyprus in the late 1950s, studied, worked, married etc, all above board and legal, as many do. That is not what is at issue - it is those who arrive here hidden in lorries etc, not going through the proper governmental channels and then expect to have everything laid out on a plate for them - housing, benefits (often whilst they are doing casual labour jobs, begging or crime to boost their incomes). I am sick of being harrassed by begging women with a babe in arms to try to make you feel guilty - doesn't work with me any more as I know these people are getting enough from the government already and I think it is appalling that they traipse around with those little kiddies all day, often drugging them so that they sleep most of the time. Sorry, going off on a bit of a rant now, so will leave it at that. Athena

About time too! They should never have been given the money ror the houses in the first place. As form them being human and not rats (Monty) if the UK wasnt such a soft touch nanny state then they wouldnt be there because the money wouldnt be handed out to them in the first place!! I am not saying they are all the same BUT I can tell you when I used to go out in a city not far from where I lived in the UK (with hubby and friends) the men would hit on you and tell you that they had a house a car a cell phone and a wife!! BUT the wife and children were in their country because they couldnt get them out with them!! YEAH RIGHT, what the eye doesnt see the heart doesnt grieve! I can tell you now if my country was so bad my hubby wouldnt leave me and the kids to move to a country so far away.. But if the UK didnt give the money they wouldnt come. Debs x