IMMIGRANTS

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The art of queuing is to be made part of the citizenship test for immigrants, under plans unveiled by a senior minister. Foreigners applying to settle in the UK will have to learn about the revered British practice of forming an orderly line for everything from buses to sandwiches. While the idea may sound like a joke, ministers insist they are entirely serious and want to indoctrinate migrants more effectively into the British way of life. They claim a lot of tension in communities is caused by immigrants not understanding that they must wait in line for services rather than barging to the front. This is not their fault, ministers say, but happens because in less-wealthy countries the only way to get access to necessities is to push yourself forward.

But to elderly people waiting in bus queues, for example, such behaviour can be off-putting and frightening. Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, confirmed that he was pushing the idea as part of moves to ensure immigrants integrate properly. He said, "The simple act of taking one's turn is one of the things that holds our country together. It is very important that newcomers take their place in queues whether it is for a bus or a cup of tea. It is central to the British sense of fair play and it is also better for everyone. Huge resentment is caused when people push in. Most immigrants in my experience want to play fair."

Since 2005, foreign nationals applying for UK citizenship, which confers the right to a British passport, have been required to sit a written test at one of 90 centres across the country before taking part in a formal citizenship ceremony. The 45-minute tests, introduced by David Blunkett, the then-home secretary, include questions on various aspects of the British way of life from politics to pop music. The answers are all to be found in a 150-page book, Life in the UK, which applicants must study before sitting the exam. Topics covered veer from complicated matters of government procedure and welfare entitlement to the apparently banal. (Source: Daily Telegraph, Feb/10)

An immigrant who was about to be deported from Britain has won a legal battle to remain in the country, partly because he and his girlfriend had bought a pet cat. The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that sending the Bolivian man back to his homeland would breach his human rights because he was entitled to a "private and family life", and joint ownership of a pet was evidence that he was fully settled in this country. Lawyers for the Home Secretary lodged an appeal, but their case was again rejected.

The Bolivian's identity has not been disclosed and even the name of the pet cat was blanked out in official court papers to protect its privacy. Delivering her decision on the case, which is thought to have cost the taxpayer several thousand pounds, Judith Gleeson, a senior immigration judge, joked in the official written ruling that the cat "need no longer fear having to adapt to Bolivian mice". Barry O'Leary, solicitor for the Bolivian, said that the court was told that man and his girlfriend had purchased the animal together, and it was therefore "one detail among many" that they were in a committed relationship.

He said, "As part of the application and as part of the appeal, the couple gave detailed statements of the life they had built together in the UK to show the genuine nature and duration of their relationship. One detail provided, among many, was that they had owned a cat together for some time. The appeal was successful and when giving the reasons for the success the judge did comment on the couple's cat. It was taken into account as part of the couple's life together."

He added, "The Home Office asked for the decision to be reconsidered. They argued it should be reconsidered because the decision was wrong in law, and one error they cited was that too much consideration was given to the couple's cat." Damian Green, the shadow immigration minister, said, "Sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry. If pet ownership is going to be used as a reason for deciding immigration cases then the law really is an ass. This is clearly not a sensible use of human rights legislation which is designed to protect people's basic needs."

Mr O'Leary added that his client originally brought the case because he should have benefited from a Home Office policy on unmarried partners which gives credit to couples who have been together more than two years. A spokesman from the Judicial Communications Office said, "This was a case in which the Home Office conceded that they had mistakenly failed to apply their own policy for dealing with unmarried partners of people settled in the UK." (Source: Daily Telegraph, Oct/09)

Illegal immigrants trapped by the authorities are being allowed to walk free again on Government orders because there is no room to lock them up. Senior immigration officers have been sent instructions to only detain failed asylum seekers or released foreign prisoners. Illegals who do not fall into this category are instead being granted 'temporary release' if they are caught in raids.

They are supposed to report back to officials at a fixed time and date, but are effectively free to vanish for a second time. The Home Office does not know how many simply disappear into the black economy. The Government has provided immigration staff with only 2,527 bed-spaces, as they attempt to round up as many as 450,000 failed asylum seekers.

Immigration insiders have long insisted the real reason for the memos is that bosses do not want the illegals to claim asylum. The Government is working to a target of removing more failed claimants each month than there are new arrivals. By letting illegals go, it reduces the chances they will make an asylum claim, making it easier to hit the target. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jul/06)

Six asylum seekers and illegal immigrants recaptured after escaping during the £38million Yarl's Wood riot have been freed to live in Britain. A further seven of the 23 people who fled during the massive blaze at the Government's immigration detention centre in 2002 remain on the run. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said of the 16 escapees they had managed to locate in the past four years, only nine had been deported.

A further six have been set free again, four with no conditions on their release. It is understood some have been granted asylum despite their actions during the riot, which caused £38m damage. Two have been granted controversial 'temporary release' because the Home office has concerns over their status. They could abscond at any time, and it would then be the job of the immigration service to try and track them down. Only one of the 16 remains in detention.

The blaze at the £100m Yarl's Wood centre, in Bedfordshire, plunged the Government's asylum system into a deep crisis. It was supposed to be the main centre for processing applications at a time when claims were being made in record numbers. The fire gutted a large part of the centre and it had to be closed, though it has since re-opened. Only four asylum seekers, who were all on legal aid, were found guilty of any charges relating to the destruction.

The riot erupted as 60 men brandishing makeshift weapons rampaged through the complex and started the fire, which reduced much of it to rubble. The ringleader was a Nigerian called 'Big Henry' Momodou, who had been living illegally on and off in Britain since 1983. He came and went apparently at will and ran up a string of convictions, but was not traced by immigration authorities until 2001.

He and Beher Limani, from Kosovo-Albania, were jailed for four years after being found guilty of violent disorder. Momodou was cleared of arson. Algerian Ahmed Aliane admitted violent disorder and received 18 months. Moroccan Nasseem Mosstaffa, pleaded guilty to affray and was jailed for three months. Seven other defendants were cleared of violent disorder, while another one went on the run before the case began. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)

Up to one in five suspected illegal immigrants caught by airport staff are being set free. Instead of being put straight on a plane home, immigration officials give them 'temporary admission' and tell them they must report back to the immigration service. But many simply vanish. The Home Office admitted it had no idea how many are absconding to join Britain's illegal immigrant population, which already stands at an estimated 570,000. The scale of the 'temporary admission' scandal was exposed in a Government report. Anne Owers, Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons, said 20% of those caught trying to sneak into Britain at Luton Airport were freed. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)

The truth about Britain's immigration shambles has been revealed by a top lawyer who rules on immigration appeals. The judge has spoken out on the Home Office chaos, blunders and fiddling that has made this country a paradise for illegal immigrants. He said, "The immigration system is a farce. The Home Office couldn't possibly track down all the illegal, immigrants because they don't I know who they are, never mind where they are."

The shambles began under the Tories when Minister Ann Widdecombe signed a contract to install a supercomputer in Lunar House, Croydon, South London, HQ of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The aim was to make it a paperless office. They transferred 70,000 immigration files on to computer but when they pressed the button nothing happened. The paper files they thought they didn't need were thrown into a couple of huge containers in an underground car park at Lunar House.

When they found out the computer wasn't working they tried to retrieve them. But the unions went to the Health and Safety Executive who said 'You can't work down there, it's full of dangerous fumes'. It was months before they sorted out the mess by which time there was 18 inches of water in the containers and thousands of files were rotten. That meant at least 10,000 illegal immigrants slipped through the system." More than 100,000 Russians were allowed into the UK on visitors' visas because British officials were too busy to check all applications.

The documents used by the Home Office are unbelievably easy to forge. The document granting refugee status is a two-page letter which is easy to copy, and the work permit is just a stock letter. They are openly sold on the black-market. With these documents you can say you want a council house and your kids to go to school, get free health treatment and all the other benefits. One immigrant had a work permit for a highly-skilled job. When the Home Office were called to check if it was genuine, they said they couldn't disclose that information without permission of the person because of the Data Protection Act.

Immigrants who volunteer to return home and get paid by the Home Office to go simply come back again. One East European lady claimed asylum and got put into council accommodation. Then she went shoplifting. She was caught and volunteered to return home. The Home Office paid her fare and put a tick on their deportation list. She came back and did exactly the same again FOUR times." (Source: Sunday People, Jun/06)