Downing Street Says » Illegal Immigration Statistics

Asked if it had come as a surprise to the Prime Minister that Home Office were able to produce statistics on illegal immigration given that he had said that such figures were impossible to calculate, the PMOS put it on record that the Prime Minster could not have known the figure when he was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight. The research had not been finished until this month, as he understood it the Head of Research at the Home Office had said that even he had not known the figure at the time of the interview. Asked if the Prime Minister had known that the research was being undertaken, the PMOS said that Des Brown in January of this year had said in Parliament, that work was ongoing to see whether a method could be applied and people were aware of that, but not whether we were anywhere near a figure. Equally, as everybody had made clear, this was still a guestimate, it was one estimate using one possible methodology, therefore it could not be seen as an accurate or definitive figure.Asked why this had been published now, the PMOS said that this was the best guess we had, it had only just become available and it was still just a guestimate. Put to him that this was convenient that this figure had not been available during the General Election but was now being used to justify ID Cards, the PMOS said that the figure was not being used to justify ID cards. The PMOS said we should not jump to assumptions. He had said yesterday and had always said that one of the advantages of an ID card was that it could be used to tackle illegal immigration, that remained the Government’s position. And in terms of this figure we had said that we would do work to see whether it was in any way possible to arrive at a figure, this was the guestimate we had arrived at. There were caveats there. In all of this we should not lose sight that asylum applications were down 73% from the peak of October 2002. That was the important thing. Asked why the Prime Minister had said it was impossible to calculate that figure, the PMOS said that we still did not have a definitive figure. By their very nature the argument still held that if people were illegal, you would never get a definitive figure. This was simply a guestimate.Asked if we could not have an amnesty for illegal immigrants, the PMOS said that in terms of work permits and so on we had worked through that system. The important thing however was what you did to stop illegal immigration. That was what we were doing.

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They don’t exist anyway, so why bother asking how many are inside the country.

The main objective of Labour Bulldog-J.Reid is to push them to crime so they get caught and deported. If you are starving and with no roof on your head, the only thing you should think of is survival
<a href="http://www.skillipedia.com">http://www.skillipedia.com</a>
Comment by career — 6 Dec 2006 on 6:23 pm | Link
Dear Sear/Madam I have understud that public do not have complete knowledge about this issue and to find out your Public opinions on the following questions and suggestions after reading this article.
I will send copies of this letter to several different organisations so hopefully
At least one of them will react to it and will make some public enquiries or come up with answers.
Unfortunately I can\x92t reveal my name, there is a reasons for this.
According to law I am an illegal immigrant some one who stays in the UK after expiry of Visa, some one who lives like a parasite, which most people in British society think, whether that is right or wrong it depends on your personal opinion, and this is a thing that I am trying to find out.
What is the public opinions on it ???
I am aware of breaking the law, but I am not considering myself as a criminal.
Every single one of us has done something against the law sometimes even with out knowing it, making copies of music or films, parking in wrong places, avoiding to pay taxes and many-many more.
You can say it is our country and it is our right to have a society where there will be no illegal immigrants who are stealing our jobs, underpaying taxes or doing something else bad for our economy. You are absolutely right!!! But it happens that there are people like me who live in the UK and it is completely up to you how you are going to solve this problem?
My Visa expired 6 years ago. Since my very first day in UK I have always worked, working in different places and on different jobs it is always the national minimum wage payment and for every pound I earn I have paid tax, I know people who live the same life for more than 11 years and they will tell you same story.
So if every body is working and paying tax, many will go to the system and since you have got an unregistered number of workers who are producing tax but can\x92t use any benefits like medical services, pension \x85 All of this generates questions:
Whay illegal workers paying tax?
Be cause it is much more profitable to employer to have the employee who earn many, that employer can clam as his tax expenses, specially if you cannot get workers you need.

How big is the problem with illegal immigrants in UK ????(Maybe it is just big enough to distract the public attention from things more important??)
Why the police and Home Office can\x92t solve this problem????

It is impossible to do impossible things. The actual circumstances that are creating reasons, which are making people become illegal immigrant are far outside of UK.
First of all it is very difficult to get Visa especially a working Visa, person who applying for Visa have to pay fee along with application and this fee is not refundable if application where rejected. Losing \xA3200 in the country where you are can earn \xA330 per month is hard and it makes people search for assistance from third parties and who will give \x93HELP& GUARANTEE\x94 but at a very high price, so by the time they make enough money to pay off what they have invested there is no time left to earn anything before the visa ends.
At the end of the day they did 6 months of hard work and still got no money.
For people like me life in the UK has got no future and I am left wondering if it was the right choice for us, to stay or to return home.
When I left my home I was 20 years old, and in those 6 years that I spent in this country I have changed to a mature adult person. I have learned a lot of new skills met wonderful people and made new friends. I didn\x92t see my family for 6 years I didn\x92t grow up in that country and to return there will be like going back to a foreign place.
In my understanding illegal immigrants who live in the UK for more than 3-5years have already went through Natural Selection and proved that they are good and reliable workers, they have no attitude problems and they are contributing positively to society, many of us have got good qualifications or degrees, qualifications that the British community can benefit from, but we are restricted by our social position. If we will return home we can\x92t reapply for any kind of visa or work permit because we will be on the black list and will be not allowed in to the country for the next 3-5 years as a consequence for braking immigration laws.
You can say there are already too many foreign people in the country.
Yes you are right. But please don\x92t blame me or other persons who are currently in the country. It is the same as blaming rain drops for falling in to your house when you have got a great big hole in your roof.
My personal opinion is that the UK government should take the following actions to eliminate all of these problems in the most cost effective way.
1. Make UK more open for people to visit for tourism or work.
It will give people from outside of the UK confidence so that they can choose to return if and when they want to, and it will eliminate all the third parties who are benefiting in scamming Visas.
Change the employment law that will forbid employer to employ foreign nationalities workers in the quantity more then 15% of their current employees.
This is a big hole in the roof that I was speaking about. There are a lot of employers who are receiving grants for supplying jobs to local people and in reality they have 90% foreign staff. Employers are using this advantage to do what ever suits them.
I have seen workers poisoned by inappropriate use of chemicals, working in dangerous conditions if they complain they are simply replaced without warning Throwing employees out of the company after person \x93persons\x94 got injured at work. As I said before, everybody has done something illegal. Employers and only employers are responsible for too many foreign people in UK, employers complaining that they can\x92t find local people to work and it is true locals will never let themselves be verbally abused and to be under paid for working through holidays or weekends for flat rate, working in an environment that is dangerous for their health. Employers making huge profits and it is only greed that is stopping them from employing local people. I understand that there is a shortage of skilfull workers and it is very good that people from abroad can fill up this vacancies but just think it all over again, in reality some one who got education and profession or good skills in any sort of trade already have some kind of work in their own countries and they will fear to lose these jobs, and it is risky for them to go to a foreign place and start everything from scratch (the unknown is always fearful !!! ) + language barrier doesn\x92t help. I think for every 100 people that are coming to the UK today only 20-30 can bring some skills and 5-10 of them have got an English level good enough to be able to apply for professional skills. So what about the other 70-80 people??? I reckon 40 of them have got nothing to lose in their own country and they have nothing to lose in the UK and if anything goes badly wrong they can run back home. That is a main reason why statistics on crime shows you more and more foreign nationalities are involved in more and more anti social behaviour and that is why British people feel discomfortable to walk at evening on their own streets. Since the very first day in the UK I was trying to learn something new from the people around me I was working hard and I was studying hard so by doing that I have earned respect from people, all British people who know my situation still respect me and our friendship. It is very derogatory to see drunk, loud, selfish people who come to UK just to get more choices to support their drinking life stile, destroying the reputation of those who choose to live respectable lives, we are all getting treated the same way by our worst side and for most of the British people there is no difference, we are all FOREIGNERS.
3. Amnesty for all illegal immigrants who currently live in UK.
For people who lived in UK for 5 and more years, grant them permission to live and remain if they will pass English exam and can prove to be useful to British society.
For people who lived in UK less than 5 years accept the time that they have spend in UK as permitted time and allow them to reapply for visa from home without getting in to the black books and being prosecuted.
You have already good results with the Knife amnesty, so why not consider to make one for illegal immigrants, anyway you have nothing to loose these people are already in the country and have found their place in society. In that case you can free finance that the government is spending on actions to find and deport illegal immigrants, on to something much more important like drugs prevention or antiterrorism campaigns.

I believe that I got skills and knowledge that can be useful to people around me and I completely disagree with those who think that me or any other person who lives the same life as I do make any damage to the British economy. Here are some figures following, so you can see for yourself .
6 Years = to 312 weeks
Take average of \xA350 per week for accommodation = \xA315600
\xA320 for food = \xA36240
Consider all of those everyday expenses that you have (money for the buss, new shoes, cinema etc)

I am a little tired.
Tired of looking over my shoulder all the time.
Tired of meeting new friends and unable to tell them who I am and where I come from.
Tired of being unable to visit my family.
Tired of being inside of my own prison with an open door that I created for myself.
So i am looking forward to making changes in my life.

Thanks very much for your time Have a nice day!
Comment by me — 28 Mar 2007 on 7:44 pm | Link
I think that several issues must be considered when debating the problem of the illegal immigrants.

First of all, the human side of the story comes always from the immigrants side.But what about the descendents of immigrants with European citizenship or even European natives who fall victim of marriage and family scams?

They are other side of the coin that must be considered.Is my true belief that permission to stay to an illegal immigrant ( with exception for refugees, asylum seekers and serious work migrants) should be considered mostly on the basis of his/her merit to contribute to this society through his/her skills or work not on the basis of marriage and specially, not on the basis of them having a child with a British or European citizen.

It might seem cruel but at the end of the day it became a bit obvious the great numbers of women and man in these societies that ruin their lives and dreams of a family at the hands of visa scammers.

Who is going to solve the problem of single motherhood in virtue of men’s or women’s ambitions to obtain the permission to stay in this country?

Lives are being destroyed from both sides of the fences and though we know the great responsability Britain holds in the flux of immigrants from the Third world in virtue of neo colonialism , a question must be asked: ‘ Do we all have to pay for politicians crimes of ambition and desire to take the most of countries in less favorable position or are we willing to find a middle term where all members of this society can rest assured of their happiness and dreams?

I am terribly sorry if I offended any parties but as a mixed young woman I feel I have the right to make some suggestions regarding the relations between both worlds.
Comment by Ariane D D F Brito — 4 May 2007 on 5:03 pm | Link
The chances of getting a straight answer, on a question of some importance could only be a guestimate, but could be down from its peak in 1997 of 35% to its present level of 0%, of course this cannot be a ‘definitive figure’ this can only be a guestimate, as these figures are impossible to ascertain.
Comment by Phil — 12 May 2007 on 2:16 pm | Link
THIS COUNTRY IS A WAR WAITING TO HAPPEN! BRITISH PEOPLE WILL NOT STAND FOR IT: THOUSANDS OF FOREIGNERS FLOCKING INTO THE COUNTRY, DEMANDING HOUSES – AND GETTING THEM BEFORE OUR OWN PEOPLE, CRYING OUT THAT OUR RELIGION IS EVIL AND BOMBING US. I WASN’T BOTHERED WITH A FEW FOREIGNERS – BUT THEY’RE FLOODING IN AND THIS CORRUPT GOVERNMENT IS LETTING IT HAPPEN! WHAT HOPE IS THERE FOR OUR CHILDREN IN A MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL WHERE THEY AS BRITISH ARE AN ETHNIC MINORITY AND FIFTY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN? HOW BAD ARE OUR WATER SHORTAGES GOING TO GET? HOW MANY MORE HOUSES ARE GOING TO BE BUILT ON FLOOD PLAINS TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE LARGELY UNWANTED NEW ARRIVALS? IF WE QUESTION THE LEFTIES WE ARE BRANDED ‘RACIST’. WELL I’M SICK OF BEING TREATED LIKE A SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN IN MY OWN COUNTRY AND WILL DEFINITELY BE VOTING FOR THE BNP AT THE NEXT ELECTION.
Comment by Mr. Realistic — 24 Dec 2007 on 10:53 pm | Link
I firmly beleive white people today are discrimminated against we are now in slave labour tatics with immigrants having better deals than we have.Our ancesters made uk and struggled many years ago now every nation is comming here an dtaking everything away from us.WAKE UP GOVERNMENT and realise whats happening to us all.Its white trash we are called we need new laws for white people in UK someone stand up for this country whos in power please.
Comment by mrs realistic — 9 Jan 2008 on 1:10 am | Link
Someone please look into all the factories we have they are full of immigrants we need new laws and fast otherwise UK is gone and all the people who have worked here for years will be made to leave its racial discrimination towards whites now.Someone needs a new rule in parliament.Otherwise we have no homes jobs nothing every country is claiming our benefits we have worked hard to pay for ,for many years and lierally laughing at us for being so nice polite and helpful,who would fight for uk in a war ask yourself .We have been taken advantage of for being good people and hard workers.
Comment by mrs realistic — 9 Jan 2008 on 1:15 am | Link
The east midlands has many factorys with illegal immigrants working Leicester is bad for this if anyone visits the factories from outside they would be amazed at the findings.We have thousands working in them they all need checking
Comment by mrs realistic — 10 Jan 2008 on 7:15 pm | Link
Hi you all know the matter as good as i know. Difference betwin a legal and an illegal. Are nothing, but the life and death. Cuz i’m an illegal immigrant. I don’t have medical support. No bank account. No ID. No NI card. And driving licence. I DON’T EXIST!!! And what makes people think that we’ve got nothing to loose. Why don’t you think your self in my place, and you’ll get the answer. Why i don’t wanna go back to the country.? What i’m earning, According to my status is working so so hard but getting a small amount of money that i can hardly keep going on. (may be that sounds funny to you). I’m trying to lead a clean and decent life is that my OFFENCE? I had a blonde girl friend, she dumped me few days ago. Well i don’t blame her cuz why a beautiful girl would spend her life with a man who vertully don’t exist. And belive me that’s the only reason i’ve lost her. If every illegal start to be so dishonest and unrully. What you gonna do? Catch them and deport them? Well i doubt on that! I don’t exist..
Comment by me and my self — 17 Jan 2008 on 10:15 pm | Link
ALL THE ASIANS ARE RACIST TOWARDS WHITES THEY WANT OUR COUNTRY JOBS AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE HAVE ALL WORKED HARD FOR.SOMEONE TAKE NOTE BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.uK IS RUINED BY THEM THEY WANT IT ALL.
Comment by andy — 30 Jan 2008 on 2:45 pm | Link
Notice 10/01/08 what an illegal immigrant says ,will the government as clever as they are realise how they have ruined UK.We needed working clas sin parliament., people who live and work and have better knowledge.The government were supposedly to be clever,NO WAY look whats happened to us in UK.The government have ruined the UK
Comment by david — 26 Mar 2008 on 6:29 pm | Link
i also know some one who is working in uk whos student visa has expired. she is working at asda stores hemel hempstead her name is tania s i havnt given her surname but she works 7 days in asda stores no one even dares to ask if she got an extended visa. although she has been saying she is on hsm visa when shes working full time at asda. also her boyfriend who came from pakistan from lahore with her is also unlegully living here i think this is unfair when people like them get away with it.. get to work here without being caught also paying solicitors to make them fake documents. i think this should stop.. can u help
Comment by alisha — 28 Sep 2008 on 8:34 pm | Link
all factories have illegal immigrants the big bosses need fines for this .The immigrants are laughing at the white english because they play on rcism lets see white racism cards for us white english EQUALITY.
Comment by david — 1 Apr 2009 on 12:23 pm | Link

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Illegal Immigration Statistics

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