LAG examines people who find themselves the unintended victims of the Government's desire to create a 'hostile environment' for irregular migrants
The Legal Action Group (LAG) last week published a report looking at how some long-standing UK migrants find themselves with irregular immigration status because of lost passports or poor government record-keeping.
You can read the report, Chasing Status, here.
LAG says the report tells the stories of people it describes as 'surprised Brits' because of their shock at finding that their immigration status is being questioned after they have lived, worked and paid taxes in the UK for many decades.
LAG adds that such people are the unintended victims of the Government's desire to create a 'hostile environment' for irregular migrants.
The report says they are now finding themselves threatened with destitution, unable to work or claim benefits, after being caught out by legislative changes they had no idea applied to them.
According to the Guardian, Fiona Bawdon, the author of the report, said it was hard to put a number on such cases but at a “guesstimate” it was in the low 10,000s.
"The six oldest Chasing Status interviewees (whose ages range from 53-60) have been in the UK a total of 260 years. They entered the UK as children and were educated, married and raised families here. They have national insurance numbers and driving licences, pay their taxes and (until recently) could work and claim benefits, just like anyone else. Until being asked for proof by employers or the Job Centre, none had any reason to question their immigration status," the report states.
Several interviewees had difficulties after the loss of their original passports, which had the crucial Indefinite Leave to Remain stamps. The lack of ability or inclination to travel abroad meant lost passports weren't replaced and problems with immigration status went undiscovered.
One Sri Lankan man who arrived in the UK as a 9-year-old in 1964 explains how he was sacked in 2013 after eight years in a job when he couldn't prove to his employer's satisfaction his legal entitlement to work in this country.
He later received a "devastating" letter from Capita stating that he had 28 days to leave the UK voluntarily. "What are they talking about? This is my country! My father's a British citizen, my brother's a British citizen, my uncle's a British citizen. My father came here early 1950s. Some of my uncles came here in the early 1940s. I can't believe all this," the man is quoted as saying.
Given the removal of legal aid, LAG notes that those with status problems can no longer get access to expert advice to resolve their situation.
The report states of the experiences of the Sri Lankan man: "In a state of panic and anger, Lasith started casting around for advice, but with legal aid gone, it wasn't easy to find. He lives in west London but was advised by a local CAB to try Hackney Migrants Centre, in the East End. He and his daughter travelled across London for a drop-in session, only to be told that although the solicitor could give them general advice about what he needed to do (including to ignore Capita's letter), her huge caseload prevented her from taking him on."
LAG calls for urgent reform, and the report makes a number of recommends, including the creation of a specialist case unit at the Home Office to deal with these cases and providing legal aid under the 'exceptional funding' scheme to enable applicants to access legal advice.