Hot Button Immigration

Immigration continues to be a hot button issue and, understandably of considerable public concern. Every day we see images in the news and on social media of people crossing the English Channel in boats. These images are highly emotive and tend to feature hoards of young men in life jackets arriving in dinghies onto the south coast. While information appears to be conflicting, those entering into the UK in this way without permission are breaching UK law, although individuals are protected under international refugee law if they claim asylum upon arrival. However, if a person does not claim asylum or their claim is rejected this can lead to detention or prosecution. In addition, organised crime groups are considered to be involved in people smuggling networks across the Channel.

This has led to widespread public anger and concern.

Yet, there appears to be a disparity between public concern and figures released by the government. According to the Home Office, net migration is the lowest it has been since 2012 and asylum applications have fallen as has small boat crossings. Furthermore, asylum seekers housed in hotels have halved in the space of a year as has those awaiting a first decision. In Torbay, the Council temporarily housed a small number of Afghan families who served with British Forces. Consequently, local concerns remain high, likely in regards to the tension that housing more asylum seekers will cause in addition to the perceived burden on local public services. Concerns nationally also focus on the burden on public services in addition to the financial cost to the taxpayer of housing asylum seekers and the potential for crime and disorder.