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31/03/2006
Call for illegal immigrants to be granted amnesty
Giving an amnesty to almost 500,000 people who are currently living illegally in the UK and allowing them to work legally could raise around £1 billion per year in taxes, a report has claimed.
The Institute of Public Policy Research calculated that the forced deportation of illegal immigrants cost taxpayers around £4.7 billion, while regularising work status could earn the Treasury around £1 billion per year.
The report said that effective immigration controls, including deportation procedures, are crucial to a well-managed migration system, but argued that deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants was "simply not feasible or desirable".
The report suggested that allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the UK and work and pay taxes would allow the Treasury to abolish the starting rate of stamp duty or increase the Child Tax Credit by £150.
The IPPR said that the process could be combined with the issuing of ID cards to foreign nationals in 2008.
It is not known how many people are living and working illegally in the UK, although the Home Office estimates that the figure is somewhere between 310,000 and 570,000. Most of them are believed to work in relatively low pay paid sectors, like cleaning, care work, hospitality and food production.
The report said that effective immigration controls, including deportation procedures, are crucial to a well-managed migration system, but argued that deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants was "simply not feasible or desirable".
Both the US and Spain have recently held amnesties. The Spanish government estimated that this increased revenue by 750 million euros and is set to add a further 1,350 million euros in 2006.
Nick Pearce, IPPR director, said: "Nobody likes illegal immigration. And the subject is a deeply difficult one for politicians to tackle. But the bare truth is that we are not going to deport hundreds of thousands of people from the UK. Our economy would shrink and we would notice it straightaway in uncleaned offices, dirty streets and unstaffed pubs and clubs. So, we have a choice: make people live in the shadows, exploited and fearful for the future; or bring them into the mainstream, to pay taxes and live an honest life."
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said that the government would not accept illegal immigration, but said that the new points-based migration system would welcome skilled workers into the country.
(KMcA)
The Institute of Public Policy Research calculated that the forced deportation of illegal immigrants cost taxpayers around £4.7 billion, while regularising work status could earn the Treasury around £1 billion per year.
The report said that effective immigration controls, including deportation procedures, are crucial to a well-managed migration system, but argued that deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants was "simply not feasible or desirable".
The report suggested that allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the UK and work and pay taxes would allow the Treasury to abolish the starting rate of stamp duty or increase the Child Tax Credit by £150.
The IPPR said that the process could be combined with the issuing of ID cards to foreign nationals in 2008.
It is not known how many people are living and working illegally in the UK, although the Home Office estimates that the figure is somewhere between 310,000 and 570,000. Most of them are believed to work in relatively low pay paid sectors, like cleaning, care work, hospitality and food production.
The report said that effective immigration controls, including deportation procedures, are crucial to a well-managed migration system, but argued that deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants was "simply not feasible or desirable".
Both the US and Spain have recently held amnesties. The Spanish government estimated that this increased revenue by 750 million euros and is set to add a further 1,350 million euros in 2006.
Nick Pearce, IPPR director, said: "Nobody likes illegal immigration. And the subject is a deeply difficult one for politicians to tackle. But the bare truth is that we are not going to deport hundreds of thousands of people from the UK. Our economy would shrink and we would notice it straightaway in uncleaned offices, dirty streets and unstaffed pubs and clubs. So, we have a choice: make people live in the shadows, exploited and fearful for the future; or bring them into the mainstream, to pay taxes and live an honest life."
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said that the government would not accept illegal immigration, but said that the new points-based migration system would welcome skilled workers into the country.
(KMcA)
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The Liberal Democrats have called for illegal immigrants in Britain to be given the chance to 'earn' full British citizenship. The party's home affairs spokesperson, Nick Clegg, said that such a 'selective amnesty' was the only way to deal with long-term residents who had entered the country illegally.
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