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Queen's Speech On Immigration: Recycled Rhetoric And Migrant Myths

Recycled Rhetoric And Migrant Myths
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Editorial assistant, HuffPost UK

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The Queen's Speech vowed to curb immigration
PA

Measures to control immigration and "ensure this country attracts people who contribute and deter those who don't" have been laid out in the Queen's Speech, with migrants' rights to healthcare and social housing curbed in the Immigration Bill.

Hailed by David Cameron as proposals for "people who work hard and want to get on" the government has also proposed to crackdown on those who profit from illegal immigrants, including landlords and employers.

But it seems this right-leaning rhetoric is not as clear cut as first appears and pandering to the public's perception of immigration is dangerous.

As the Bishop of Dudley, David Walker, told the Observer in March: "Public fears around immigration are like fears around crime. They bear little relationship to the actual reality."

Relying on myths about migrants and recycling old policy, the Coalition's anti-immigration posturing in the Queen's Speech is not all it seems either.

Queen's Speech
Fine businesses 'substantially' for employing illegal immigrants(01 of06)
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David Cameron is recycling old policy: You can already be fined up to £10,000 per worker for employing illegal workers. (credit:PA)
Article 8 of Human Rights Act 'Right To Family Life' Will Not Be Abused(02 of06)
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Yes, this comes back Theresa May's testing tale of a Bolivian and his British cat which allegedly enabled him not to be deported as it would breach his human rights. As Lord Pannick said Theresa May’s cat case “turned out to be a shaggy dog story“. The man was not deported because the cat allowed him a right to family life, but because of his partner who was settled in the UK (credit:PA)
Private landlords responsible for checking tenants immigration status(03 of06)
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The Queen's speech will insist that private landlords will also face fines, potentially of thousands of pounds, if they fail to check on the immigration status of tenants.But what stops letting agencies and landlords passing the cost of checking a person’s immigration status onto tenants.. and making a profit out of it? Should landlords have to police the immigration system?Jeremy Hunt was criticised after failing to go into more detail about the plans, insisting the government will announce “details of how we sort out that particular problem in due course”. Sounds like it's not been thought through, something Hunt strenuously denied. (credit:PA)
Incomers' access to NHS services will be regulated and temporary migrants will be expected to make a contribution.(04 of06)
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How much will it actually save? Hunt contradicted Downing Street over the costs of treating patients from the European Economic Area (EEA) on the NHS, saying they won't recoup £10m to 20m (figures from No 10) a meagre nibble from the NHS' £100bn annual budget, but instead said it was more like £200m.However in 2009-10 the government's own figures put the spend at £6,967,780 and that included both EU and non-EU citizens treated in the UK.
Ensuring courts balance the crime against the perpetrator's right to remain in the country.(05 of06)
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A row between Lord Neubeurger and Theresa May broke out over this one, after the home secretary criticised judges over their failure to deport foreign criminals.The top judge said May's criticism was “inappropriate, unhelpful and wrong”.He added "If the judges always did things ministers liked then there would be understandable suspicion as to what was going on.”The home secretary was speaking out after being repeatedly frustrated over Abu Qatada. More about balancing human rights with public interest here
Social Housing limited (06 of06)
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Only immigrants resident for between two and five years qualify for social housing. However local government advisors have noted that if people legally in this country were not allocated housing, it would be more expensive to deal with them under homeless laws. Others have argued that there is not housing shortage because of immigration but because we haven’t been building housing. It is also worth noting that a large amount of building workers are foreign. (credit:PA)
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