Having a daily arrival of illegal immigrants is not sustainable. Every country has borders and immigration policies and a right to stop people entering illegally. Other immigrants go through the proper channels to gain access to the place they would like to live. Just like we would if we wanted to live somewhere else.
I dread to think of some of their backstories, the tragic circumstances that made some of them leave their countries. However a lot of them are economic migrants despite calling themselves asylum seekers. (Look at those tragic deaths of Vietnamese people in the lorry - they weren’t fleeing war, they wanted a better life and paid money to be smuggled in.) I don’t blame people for wanting to better themselves but turning up at any country you like expecting to access cash strapped services is not sustainable or right.
For those who say they are fleeing war and are desperate, they have already reached a place of safety when they hit mainland Europe but they keep going until they reach here, putting their lives in danger in the process. The amount of money being made by this racket must be vast - the people smugglers, the immigration lawyers - including the shady ones who are being paid to find loopholes.
Illegal immigrants are not responsible for high property prices and at the moment there are lots of vacancies for jobs that nobody here wants to fill. The service industry has been hit hard by Brexit. So the argument that they are taking jobs is not valid.
However we are not a big country. And we are in a mess at the moment and for the foreseeable. People like Prince Charles and the archbishops who commented on Rwanda proposal are not affected by illegal immigration. They have multiple homes, land, wealth. They don’t need to access public services. The nearest Prince Charles will get to an asylum seeker is at a photo opportunity promoting himself. Perhaps he could commit to sponsor a set number of them a year, from the vast amount of untaxed income he gets from the Duchy of Cornwall. He has the land too of course, he could build some houses on his land, and as the Church of England is one of the biggest landlords in the country, perhaps they can too.
Immigration is putting massive amount of strain on public services that were already ailing. Councils are on the verge of bankruptcy already. Social services, housing, schools, NHS - all cash strapped and at breaking point. Extra people who arrive here with little are expecting to be housed, fed, medically treated.That means that people who are here legally are seeing their access to services curtailed.
The illegal arrivals do need to be stopped. However I do not agree with the Rwanda proposal. It just feels wrong on so many levels. It is supposed to act as a deterrent but it doesn’t seem to be working, particularly as the legal challenges are preventing it from taking place. But ethically, it feels very wrong. However I don’t, like most people, have the answer. It can’t go on though. It’s not racist to talk about these issues, it is an issue that a lot of people are concerned because it affects their daily lives. I suspect someone will jump on and accuse me of being a racist, but that’s their opinion. It’s a balanced post, trying to see things from all angles, but sometimes anything critical of immigration is immediately lumped as racist to stop the debate.
Back to Loose Women - Coleen seems to have bought herself a huge house with land. Perhaps she could sponsor a family, particularly as her kids are moving out. It’s okay saying stuff on air to make yourself look full of human kindness, but she has the wherewithal to make a difference in a way that most of us don’t.