Daily Express: Outcry at secret amnesty for 315,000 asylum seekers

COUNCILS are in revolt over Government plans for a "stealth amnesty" that could let 315,000 more asylum seekers stay.   

Local authorities say the move is "grossly irresponsible" and have written to the Home Office warning it will put intense strain on services.

One leader has called for top-level sackings over the fiasco. They hit out after it emerged officials are to allow thousands to stay in the UK on human rights grounds. It shatters Labour's promises it will not grant an immigration and asylum amnesty.

And it comes as the Liberal Democrats plan to propose an "earned" amnesty for 600,000 illegal immigrants.   

Ministers are desperate to clear a backlog of 450,000 socalled "legacy" asylum files and are set to fast-track approvals.   

Town halls have been warned that 70 per cent of the first 7,000 cases are to get indefinite leave to remain by Christmas - seven times current the approval rate. They will then be the responsibility of councils to house and support.

Andrew Carter, Conservative coleader of Leeds City Council said: "This is gross irresponsibility. What they are trying to do is offload a massive problem of their own making on to local authorities and local communities.

They have pulled this stunt before when local authorities have been left to pick up the pieces."   

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "To effectively propose an amnesty by stealth is shortsighted, reckless and utterly irresponsible. Councils have already warned the Government about the massive pressure being placed on local services and housing. Such an amnesty would make this situation worse by encouraging more to try to come illegally."

The 450,000 files in the Case Resolution Programme were unearthed last year in the wake of the foreign prisoner scandal.   

Among them are claimants who should have been deported years ago while others have never been dealt with.   

The first 7,000 include many families with children born in the UK.   

The Human Rights Act protects against removal on the grounds of a right to a family life. Councils have been told 4,900 cases are likely to be approved.

If the rate is applied to the rest of the backlog 315,000 asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers will be allowed to stay.   

Normally, just one in 10 claims is approved at the first stage. Once a case is granted, the claimants will be taken out of the Governmentrun asylum support system and become the responsibility of councils virtually over night.

Leeds alone is expecting to have to find 500 homes, while 1,063 cases are due to be considered across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Local authorities there have jointly written to Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border & Immigration Agency. The letter warns the move will create "significant" pressures on housing and social services.

Mr Carter said residents will suffer as efforts are directed to "finding homes for people the Home Office has virtually turfed out and on to our doorsteps". He added: "All they want to do is get the statistics off their files and on to someone else's.

"There is an element of panic again running through the Home Office. Well, there wants to be panic and there ought to be sackings and they might want to start at the top.

We cannot go on soaking people up like a sponge."   

Matthew Sinclair, spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Council taxpayers will end up footing the bill."   

Home Office sources insist the approval rate will fall as the rest of the files are considered because there is wide variety in the cases.

Ms Homer said: "This is not an amnesty. This is the programme the previous Home Secretary announced last year to the House.   

"We will take action to remove those not granted permission to remain in the UK." The Government has constantly insisted it has no plans for an amnesty.

Comments

[jhonny depp]

Asylum (those who are not allowed to work and deprived of many other things including their former lives that vanished over night in countrys where they came from)they should be granted asylum on my opinion! in any case they dont even cover accedental deaths on roads of the country!, and therefor will not increase the population dramatically (majority of them dont sit on benefits ALL their life! like eastenders anyway and are hard workers) about the illigals i cant coment... coz i see alot of lets say not honest people in their group
and GRANTING them same time! would be very strange thing (but then again we need Sir Francis Drake!)

[eve]

most failed assylum seekers are hard workers and also pay their tax, so why not pardon them by allowingthem to work just like everyone else. They never claim benefits and most of them do not crowd the NHS with getting drunk and doing drugs like the original british on benefits. Give them amnesty please.