The government could start by dealing with the real big issue for illegal immigration. Visa overstay. The vast majority of illegal immigrants are through Visa overstay, in other words they arrive at Heathrow or wherever with a valid short stay visa, clear customs and then disappear, presumably into the black employment market for the majority of them. Start by A) acknowledging that then B) dealing with that.
The people coming by dingy represent a fraction of arrivals, an even smaller percentage will have no genuine claim for refugee status, something like 65% of them successfully claim asylum. Including a young man from Syria who came by boat, successfully claimed asylum, finished his education here and then last year was voted NHS doctor of the year. If the government were serious about stopping the boats they’d open asylum claims in France and then give anyone successful safe passage. The current system doesn’t work as the Ukrainian refugee crisis has highlighted. Thousands of Ukrainians are currently stranded on the continent waiting to be placed with either family or sponsors already based in the UK, the government promised months ago to sort it by making the process simpler and quicker for them. They haven’t.
Unfortunately we have a government who think the electorate is stupid so as long as they whip up hysterical paranoia and trick the people they think are stupid into believing that they are the only ones who can save them they’ll keep voting for them. It’s pure Trumpism.
