What would you do about immigration?

Less pressure to do so when you’ve got a paying job, though innit?!

Absolutely. They provide a good model that we could follow. They are not seen as a draconian society yet they've managed to get a grip on who enters their country.

There is rock solid evidence about the figures.

Last data set - December 2025, six monthly release. Loads of data and evidence.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2025/summary-of-latest-statistics

Illegal routes is not the largest group.

Also, they are not signatories to the ECHR.

Good question. The Aussies got on top of it because they had the political will to do it.

In the UK we have too many vested interests in our dysfunctional system.

Same as those working 37.5 hours and commuting an hour each way perhaps?

So why iare the Australian rules different?

There is rock solid evidence about the figures.

Last data set - December 2025, six monthly release. Loads of data and evidence.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2025/summary-of-latest-statistics

Illegal routes is not the largest group.

Are you of the opinion that all of these women would want to come? By that logic, we should never let in anyone from anywhere ever, as everyone else from their country may follow!

Anyone who can look at the suffering and oppression of Afghan women and say that “we don’t want them” is not somebody whose opinion I would value.

Legally you cannot return someone who has arrived by small boat and claimed asylum. This is a breach of human rights law. Same as 'push backs' where small boats are denied entry or given fuel for a return journey is illegal.

If people are doing 30 weeks of Community Service, when would they get the chance to, you know, apply for actual paid employment??

@stateofthem
Those on jobseeker benefits to be required to fulfil 30 hours per week of community service or charity work - to be signed off by a member of this organisation personally each week. (I appreciate there would need to be things done to ensure no corruption here).

Those on jobseeker benefits are required to jobsearch for 30 hours a week and to evidence that when they sign on. They can't jobsearch AND do community service. Basic universal credit for a single person over 25 is £424 a month, which means that 30 hours of community service a week would be paid at around £3.50 an hour ...

What would I do? I would make sure that there is rock solid evidence about the figures. I don’t know on what basis immigration is said to be a problem. I’ve never seen figures, that are accepted, about how many people each year are immigrants, in what circumstances and where from. I don’t know how many people are asylum seekers and from where they come. I don’t know how many people are overstayers and I don’t know what problems this causes. Obviously I can guess, we all can do that, but that’s not good enough.

Above all, I don’t know, and I am mistrustful of people who tried to tell me, what problems immigration causes.

Very much of the debate seems to take as accepted fact the supposition the immigration causes problems. I just don’t know. I’m aware that there are stresses and strange in different parts of our different communities. Nevertheless, I’m not clear how much of all this is attributable to immigration and for what reasons.

Of course I accept that everyone has opinions about this. I’m used to living in places where there are large numbers of immigrant families, but many have been here for generations.

Leaving aside subjective views, what I need to know is how many and with what effect.

So that’s what I do.

This ⬆

I have name changed as this is outing, but a few years ago our son was working in the USA and met and married a US citizen. His company posted him back to London and the hoops he (and we) had to jump through to allow his wife to come with him were ridiculous, including a personal visit to us by a representative of the Home Office (I think) to make sure we had enough room for them to live with us and that we had enough income to support them both and were willing to do so.

He and his wife are both well-qualified professionals, he was employed and his wife works in a field where we had shortages at the time. It was utterly ridiculous. They have never taken a penny from the state and pay a lot of tax.

I have heard many similar stories from friends (my DH worked in an international industry so colleagues meeting and marrying spouses from other countries was not at all unusual).

We absolutely do not need to be importing people who are from countries where women have no rights, and people who will be a permanent cost to the taxpayer.

As to our citizens being allowed to not work, then I do agree everyone should contribute in some way if they are being supported by the state. Having parents who needed care, I do not want anyone looking after them who resents it, but heaven knows there is enough work that can be done without that; litter picking and cleaning up graffiti for a start!

If you get here via people smuggling, whether a boat or a lorry, then yes, into a detention centre and sent back to where you came from pdq; no wandering the streets getting up to no good or working in the black market. Fingerprinted and DNA tested if necessary so you can’t just keep coming back again and again for another go.

Too many politicians are willing to virtue signal on immigration, but they don’t tend to have to live with the consequences in their own back yard.

If you come over on a boat or back of a lorry.

I worked in the asylum system for 6 eye-opening years.

The biggest area of reform are the asylum courts and lawyers.

Lawyers want cases to appeal as they will get twice the pay. Small aspects of evidence is regularly withheld in order for it to be then provided and an appeal based on.

Appeals courts overturn the majority of negative decisions. Appeals clog up the courts so everyone waits too long. That doesn't seem like a system that is working.

Interpreters that work for the lawyers are not professional. I have heard recordered calls with interpreters where the interpreter is adding their own information.

And then when someone gets a negative decision they have all support removed but were rarely detained or deported. Just left to sofa surf or put in a new claim or enter the grey/black economy.

Lastly, most people I worked with worked illegally in some capacity (nail bar/car wash/ deliveroo/ even sex work). If asylum seekers were allowed to work legally many of them would - and pay tax. They do in germany and other countries.

Also brexit needs to be undone. When we could no longer access european data on asylum we lost the ability to see that Mr X had applied and been refused in Germany and should be deported. That was a quick way to deport people who were serial applicants.

Afghanistan. ARP scheme. I think it has now closed but they are processing some of the cases still.

I taught in a a school which had several refugees that came to the UK this way, hence familiar with this scheme.

There was/is also a scheme for Ukrainian refugees.

Most countries make provisions to take refugees from war torn countries.

I agree on the welfare aspect if you mean cutting funds for those out of work by choice etc. I don’t think that we should penalise those who are genuinely disabled etc, and I find those groups are usually left with the brunt to bear from a lot of cuts etc.

So, assuming disabled people are removed from this equation I would personally propose:

Those on jobseeker benefits to be required to fulfil 30 hours per week of community service or charity work - to be signed off by a member of this organisation personally each week. (I appreciate there would need to be things done to ensure no corruption here).

Total reform on the issues around working a certain number of hours reducing benefits, meaning people don’t work (or work little hours) as they can earn more on benefits. This should not happen.

The above said, I often see that the vast majority of work posts needed are in care. I would never want someone to work in care who didn’t want to, not least as they would likely provide some substandard care. I’d much rather know my mum was being cared for by an immigrant who wants to care and will offer kindness and compassion, than an English person who will be full of resentment. I know there’s no easy fix to that aspect, but I really do feel that those out of work (or anyone really) shouldn’t be forced into care roles as ultimately those receiving the care would suffer.

Because allowing lots of men in to the country presents a whole loads of problems. Problems that the ignorant and stupid use to tarnish all immigrants with the same brush.

I would support a system that was safe and easier for women with children from counties such as Afghanistan to seek asylum.

We don't need lots of unskilled undocumented men

I don’t know what the answer is but I wish I could talk openly about how hard some types of immigration can be to live with.
I live in a poor diverse area, it’s always been this way and mostly hasn’t been a problem. Some communities settled in the area a long time ago and integrated well.
We have more recent high immigration in the area that I assume is economic migration? They seem to hate the country but are perhaps just here to make money and send it home? Obviously this wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t engage in such anti social behaviour. Issues include drinking in the streets, setting off fireworks in the streets, blocking resident drives and generally not following parking regulations. Having loud parties, littering and fly tipping. Combined with the fact that they rent and don’t care about the property it can make for a miserable neighbourhood. Although I am fully aware that bad landlords don’t help either.

I know that people will say that anyone can display this behaviour and that is true. However when you try and talk to them about it and they don’t speak English it is so hard to resolve any problems. I just feel like I am living in a hostile environment next to people who don’t care about the area and aren’t invested in it. My long term neighbours who are all from different ethnic backgrounds feel the same.

If I ever voice these opinions I am just viewed as racist.