Neil O'Brien this week secured a Parliamentary debate on illegal immigration, and and used it to ask some questions about where the government is going on this issue.
Neil took the opportunity to put some important questions to Dame Angela Eagle, Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, about the new Government's plan. The Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston MP called for data to be published on the Government's plan to process migrants much more quickly, which will inevitably mean granting more people asylum and pushing costs into the welfare budget. Neil also spoke of the need for the enforced return of those denied asylum.
In his speech, Neil said: "Illegal immigration is unfair on those who have played by the rules and come here legally. It undermines attempts to get the kind of high-skill, high-wage migration that all politicians say they want and it blows a hole in our attempts to keep dangerous people out of the country. It is a huge issue.
"Many of the people coming here in the small boats are, in reality, economic migrants—not all, but many. At present, the No. 1 country of origin is Vietnam, which is a friendly and peaceful country. Most of the people in the small boats are young men—nine out of 10 are men, and about three quarters are aged 18 to 39.
"The overwhelming majority of these people will claim asylum. They know that if they can make it to the UK, they will be able to stay by one means or another—most will be granted asylum, and, of those who are not, very few will be removed. Looking at the period 2019 to 2022, we see that only about a fifth of applications were refused, and only one in 20 people was actually made to leave the country through enforced or voluntary returns.
"During the election I met many people who were in despair about the small boats. They felt it was profoundly unfair, and that the rights of people who forced their way into this country were considered more important than their rights. They are right to feel that way. I was critical of the previous Government, but I am not optimistic about the current Government fixing any of these things."
