Over a hundred MPs sign Strangers EDM

The number of MPs signing the Strangers into Citizens Early Day motion calling for the regularisation of long-term undocumented migrants has reached 105. The MPs are from all three parties, showing again how broad is the spectrum of support for Strangers into Citizens.

There are more than 600 MPs in Parliament so we still have some way to go. In the run-up to next year's general election there will be plenty of opportunity to press our case.

Belgium annnounces regularisation

According to this piece, the Belgian government has announced a set of criteria for regularisation -- not a "mass amnesty", they stress, and applicants will be assessed on a "case-by-case basis". But the criteria look at lot like SiC's.

Phillippe Courard of the Belgian Government said they would accommodate people who had integrated into villages and towns, those who had make links with society, those who had children for several years in schools. A new circular sets out the precise conditions under which residency permits can be given. Among those who can expect a favourable outcome: long-term residents, parents of Belgian children, parents of children at school, those with work contracts and those whose applications have taken an excessive amount of time. Lawyers for the immigrants expressed a cautious welcome. Alexis Deswaef said: “You can say that for the first time a legal framework has been established. There are rules, there are precise criteria so that those without residency papers can live in dignity and come out of the shadows.”

The story is also carried by another website:

The Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy (Flemish Christian democrat) has released the details of the Federal Government agreement on the regularisation of illegals. In order to be successful, applicants will have to show they are integrated into the community.
Illegals who have lived in Belgium for at least five years will be able to apply for a regularisation of their situation between 15 September and 15 December. If successful, they will be granted papers that will allow them to stay in the country legally.
It is the Secretary of State for Asylum and Immigration, Melchior Wathelet (Francophone Christian democrat), who has the final say.

There's an estimate here that this will benefit about 25,000.

Here it says:

The amnesty being offered only applies to people who have been living illegally in Belgium for at least six years; five if you have a family. Asylum seekers whose claims have been left hanging for four years or more will also be granted legal status here.

There is some interesting background - a hunger-strike by undocumented migrants and a civil-society campaign. This very disapproving piece, for example, gives fascinating info on the Catholic Church opening its doors to undocumented migrants.

If anyone knows more, please comment.

Lewisham Council backs SiC

Bernadette Farrell, lead organiser of South London Citizens, reports:

Unanimous vote from Lewisham Council last night in support of Strangers into Citizens. The motion was put forward by Steve Bullock (Elected Mayor/Council leader) with a splendid speech.

Does anyone have quotes from the speech -- or the speech itself? It would be nice to see it.

UK's top Conservative blogger backs SiC

I've only just been alerted to this post of 16 June by Tim Montgomerie at the much-read conservativehome site. His backing for Strangers into Citizens adds another significant voice to the growing chorus of support in the Conservative Party, along with Boris Johnson, John Bercow, Anthony Browne, Philip Blond, etc.

Montgomerie described how he was "instinctively against" regularisation until he read an article by Anthony Browne, Boris's policy man.

Browne set out the three options very clearly: We can oversee a massive deportation of illegal immigrants but "no country that sees itself as civilised wants to send immigration officials into schools, yanking distraught children away from their distressed classmates." There is also the stubborn fact that Britain has a very poor record at deporting large numbers. An estimated two-thirds of illegal immigrants have been here for more than five years. Do we really believe that that is going to change? We can accept the status quo where immigrants and their children live in a limbo land - half in the economy and half out. Or third we can offer immigrants an 'earned regularisation' if they haven't committed crimes.

[snip]

I only support an amnesty as part of a comprehensive immigration policy. It will only work if we have effective border controls and, in a ideal world, that would mean a new deal with the EU so that Britain has full control of the numbers of people entering our country.

Both the Conservative and Labour frontbenches oppose an amnesty (the Liberal Democrats are supportive) but I've come to see earned regularisation as a humane policy. Today's LSE report suggests that it is economically beneficial too.

The Londonist

The web-based newspaper summarises the report.

There are an estimated 618,000 illegal immigrants in the UK, 442,000 of whom live in London. Under the proposed scheme, immigrants who've been in Britain for five years and have no serious criminal record would become legal citizens as part of a one-off amnesty. The people who do the figures on these things reckon about two-thirds of the total would be eligible.

And just to really stick the boot of common sense and decency into those who declare the UK is "full", the legal immigrants would be paying around £846m a year in taxes, as opposed to the short-term costs of £410m a year to the public purse. Longer term, economists think costs would be around £1bn a year but annual GDP would be boosted by £3bn. Surely that's good financial planning in anyone's books?

LSE report out! SiC proposal would bring in £3bn!

Austen writes:

We've won the humanitarian and moral argument. Now we can safely say there's an economic case, too, for regularisation.

So says the London School of Economics, which this morning released their final report following months of research commissioned by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson -- see Guardian report here -- which says, in effect, that regularisation on the model proposed by SiC and backed by the mayor would bring £3bn into the economy and benefit about two-thirds of the 725,000 irregular migrants in the country. It also scotches the notion that the move would have a "green light" effect on illegal immigration.

The LSE's long-awaited research is one of the ways in which the mayor has made good his pledge his support for Strangers into Citizens at the London Citizens mayoral assembly of April 2009 -- something which Dave Hill, the Guardian blogger, who was sitting in front of me at City Hall this morning, recalls in his post here. "You're very good at getting what you want," Hill turned and told me -- meaning London Citizens, of course.

As well as the Guardian here there's the BBC report here, Telegraph here, Financial Times here, and Ekklesia here.

Oxford City Council passes motion backing SiC

on 20 April, in fact; but we've only just received the wording of the motion -- which shows ordinary punters (pictured) back the idea.

That this Council recognises the Government's commitment to tighten UK borders and introduce new monitoring and assessment systems into the immigration process. We note the Home Office assessment that at least 500,000 irregular migrants currently live and work in Britain.

We acknowledge the contribution of irregular migrants to Oxford's economy and to our diverse local community. We regret that irregular migrants are not accounted for in the allocation of funding to Local Authorities and believe that Oxford is disadvantaged by this situation.

We endorse the London Citizen's 'Strangers into Citizens' campaign for the one-off regularisation of long term irregular migrants and believe that such a measure would be in keeping with Oxford's tradition of being a welcoming and tolerant city to whom immigrant communities have contributed so much both now and in the past.

This Council supports the regularisation of irregular migrants; encourages other local authorities to do likewise and urges the Government to adopt a proposal for regularisation after consultation with migrants organisations.

MEP candidate backs SiC

Video by Charles Kelly of Immigration Matters -- "the UK's leading online immigration resource" -- who meets MEP Candidate for London Gene Alcantara at the Strangers into Citizens Rally.

Alcantara (left) is running as an Independent candidate for a London seat in the European parliament in the elections on 4 June, and articulates well the SiC policy: "Keep the borders secure, but once you're in you must be treated decently fairly and justly as a citizen".