Crossing the line: Apparently it is likely to become easier for EU migrants to enter the UK post-Brexit. Isn’t that the opposite of what the voters wanted?

It seems Theresa May’s best hope of keeping the Irish border open – a promise made by her on becoming prime minister – is also her worst nightmare as far as illegal immigration is concerned.

The plan, it seems, is to pretend that EU citizens crossing the border from the Republic of Ireland, which is still an EU country, are only visiting the UK or doing business here before moving on again.

Businesses will be expected to find and eject illegal migrant workers – but they’re not good at that.

So it seems we’ll end up with a worse immigration system than we had as part of the EU.

Wasn’t Brexit supposed to solve that problem?

[It seems that] post Brexit, [the government] won’t put any extra checks on EU citizens who just want to visit the UK or do business here. The only visas will be for people who want to work.

The question is how we can then stop EU citizens who fail to get a work visa from working illegally. Here the government doesn’t yet have full answers. But its initial thinking seems to be that we should use the current approach of relying on firms to crack down on illegal workers. Companies that employ workers illegally can be heavily penalised if they are caught – unless they cooperate with the authorities, as Byron, the hamburger chain, did last month in a sting operation that rounded up migrants from Albania, Brazil, Nepal and Egypt.

The snag, of course, is that the current system isn’t terribly effective at stopping illegal migration.

Source: InFacts Brexit could spawn army of illegal EU workers – InFacts

ADVERT

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here: