The Green Party has responded to the government’s new plans to tackle illegal immigration.
Natalie Bennett said:
‘These plans are both morally reprehensible and politically inept.
‘This government has spectacularly missed its migration targets not because of the minority of migrants who stay beyond their visas, but because those targets are arbitrary and illogical; this new legislation is a transparent attempt to shift the focus away from this failure. A promised ‘crackdown’ on so-called illegal migrants risks forcing them into destitution but does nothing to address the real economic issues facing Britain.
‘The pressures we have seen in recent years on schools, hospitals and public services are not the result of immigration but of the failed politics of austerity, and the government’s consistent emphasis on immigration is an act of misdirection. Taking hard-earned money from those who have precious little in the first place, while doing nothing to address the UK’s rising inequality, exposes the warped priorities of this Government.'
ENDS