Rog wrote:Can you give some more information on the campaign. Is there going to be a procession/demonstration etc and what is the topic ie HSMP or just 4-5 years ?
Well, here are more information of what Hamad i think is talking about.
On 7 May, a demonstration will be held in Parliament Square in support of an amnesty for Britain's undocumented migrants. The campaign's organisers, a group called "Strangers into Citizens", argue that Britain's estimated 300,000 to 500,000 irregular migrants should be given a temporary work permit if they can show they have been here for four years or more. At the end of this period they should be entitled to apply for leave to remain.
There is a humanitarian justification for this proposal. Many of those who stand to benefit, such as failed asylum-seekers, are destitute and homeless. They are afraid to come forward for help from the state because they would run the risk of being deported. Regularising their status would help them access accommodation and healthcare.
But this would be far more than an act of charity. Historically, immigrants have always contributed greatly to the public wealth through their hard work. This scheme would enable the present generation to contribute more fully. By regularising those who work in the black economy, the Treasury's tax take would be boosted by about £5bn a year. Moreover, the plan would also open the British economy to an untapped set of skills. It is often impossible for academics or doctors who have sought asylum in Britain to work in the field in which they have been trained. While their claims are being processed, they are forced to live on state handouts. If they are turned down, they often disappear into the black economy to do menial jobs. Under this scheme, they would be free to use their training for the wider public good.
There are several reasons why an undocumented worker will not want to be deported. Some will be in fear of their lives. Others will want to stay because they have decent jobs in Britain. Many will have family ties. But virtually all will have one thing in common: they would like to work legally. It is a myth that most foreigners come to Britain to live on benefits. An amnesty would help to expose this pernicious lie.
So that is the moral and economic justification. But let us be pragmatic too. At the present rate of deportations, it would take a quarter of century to remove all the undocumented migrants in Britain. And this is assuming no one else applies for asylum or overstays their visa in that time. And even if all these undocumented migrants could be located and deported overnight, such a policy would have a devastating effect on our economy. No government would long survive the consequences.
The status quo serves the interests of no one. The Government responds to the xenophobic tub-thumping of the right-wing press by announcing "crackdowns" on illegal immigrants. Ministers step up efforts to deport people. Home Office bureaucrats go after the softest targets such as children and refugees who have made a life in small communities, which then prompts a local outcry. Immigrants' lives are made miserable, ministers are criticised for failing to get to grips with the problem, and the reactionary press becomes ever more hysterical. This plan offers a way to break a vicious circle.
There is no reason why it should not work. The United States held such an amnesty in 1986 and is considering another now. Spain, Italy and Germany have held similar regularisation schemes. And an opinion poll by "Strangers into Citizens" indicates that two-thirds of the British public support an amnesty for those migrants who are prepared to work and pay tax. An amnesty would be humane, efficient and economically justified. It would also be morally just. This is a proposal whose time has arrived.
http://comment.independent.co.uk/leadin ... 483828.ece
