Britain plans to control immigration, step up deportations

While UKIP did not win many seats, their high share of the popular vote (12.6 percent), along with internal Conservative dynamics, keeps on shifting British immigration policy to the right:

Anger against migrants in the United Kingdom has reached fever pitch. Some have even blamed part of Britain’s ongoing economic problems on allowing those from the European Union’s poorer countries entry into the U.K.

In the election race, the U.K. Independence party campaigned against the influx of immigrants, vowing to “take back control of our borders.”

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage got into hot water after he said he’d be concerned if a group of Romanians became his neighbours. When outrage ensued, Farage quickly apologized.

While UKIP only gained one parliamentary seat in the vote, going to Douglas Carswell, the party attracted popular support — coming an astounding second in 120 constituencies and gaining nearly 4 million votes, says the Financial Times.

While the finer details of Cameron’s plan will be released next week in the Queen’s Speech (which sets out the Conservative program for the year ahead), his self-described “whole government approach” will aim to clamp down against migrants in Britain illegally. He’ll even lead the charge by chairing a new task force on immigration.

Police will be given the authority to seize the wages of those working at off-the-books jobs, making it a crime to be working illegally.

Municipal governments or councils will be given new powers to crack down on landlords housing migrants and then evict the occupants.

Banks will now be required to check all bank accounts against databases of people illegally living in Britain.

Foreign criminals awaiting deportation will wear satellite tracking tags, so authorities know where they are at all times.

Already, Cameron noted, they’ve weeded out fake brides and grooms that stage sham marriages and taken away the licenses of 9,000 “illegal immigrants driving on our roads.”

Britain plans to control immigration, step up deportations | Toronto Star.