What's your thoughts on asylum seekers?

[Lynds778]

I'm all for offering asylum to those genuinely in need but I've seen a lot of negative media recently around 'fake' asylum seekers; people pretending to be from war-torn countries etc to gain entry to the country. Also videos of men giving advice for future asylum seekers on where to say you're from so that you can get in.

Also seen a lot of uproar from local communities about asylum seekers behaving anti-socially, most recently hanging around outside a primary school in Deanshanger and it's got me worried.
I'm also wondering why the large majority of asylum seekers are men and there are less women and children?

So, what's your opinion?

Also, this isn't a racist post. I would have the exact same concerns if these were white asylum seekers from Germany for example. The worry is the system is being abused by some and that we are a bit too lax when it comes to documentation and monitoring of asylum seekers.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14058597/Fake-asylum-seekers-conning-way-Britain-telling-Home-Office-war-torn-Eritrea-bragging-thousands-followers-TikTok.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14185169/amp/Four-asylum-seekers-costing-taxpayer-estimated-160-000-year-living-575-000-luxury-home-accused-faking-Afghan-nationalities-UK.html

Are you going to reply to any of them or am I the only one that has to answer questions this evening? It’s only polite that you go first seeing as I did ask first …

@MikeRafone I need to go re read posts on here so may have missed yours.

Are you someone living in an area with a high influx of asylum seekers and have negative experience of this.

I think we need to restrict immigration massively including asylum seekers. We can’t take on the woes of the world. Too many people take and not enough give.

What questions did you ask @DearDarcy ? They aren’t in the quote history.

If there were a policy to turn away boats and re settle them, there is the probability I could favour that. But I'd need to be sure that we know where they're getting sent to and how exactly is that going to be physically managed.

This can be done under the convention, it's how Aus do it.

Whether the convention lasts is another issue

The country is a soft touch though, so it stands to reason most would be granted. And many are granted to avoid the grind of an ECHR claim (or granted on appeal after one).

We take fewer because we have the advantage of a full sea border, but our rates of grants are higher.

I've been watching footage of what's happening in America. Trump is actually pretty smart. He is delivering rapid action and knows that masses of people will love this and love him for being so strong and making decisions. I watched the ' ICE' teams he deployed to round up all these illegal ' aliens ' yesterday and the footage of them gathering up these' illegal alien criminals'.

It did make me think of the programme ' cops'. I remembered we were sold this idea of these heroes but in reality there's alot of abusive, power hungry, scary Police officers who like the power trip and enjoy battering black people. ( Imo)

Then I thought, how many of these ICE operatives are a bit power hungry, emotionally immature, pretty thick and are just high on a power trip so will make big mistakes, go after the wrong people, not give a shit who is innocent or actually has a valid and acceptable reason to remain etc etc.

I watched border patrols at the wall as part of a documentary. The enforcer was a complete brain dead power hungry emotionally devoid red neck from everything I saw. It doesn't mean there's not a job to be done here but some of these people are scary and their views may spread to all groups they just don't like beyond ' aliens'.

We're a small island with in the region of 70 million already living here. That's densely populated.

We can't just keep on paving over the countryside to allow millions more in. Or building all kinds of infrastructure projects with money we don't have.

20,000 asylum seeks arrive by boat each year

Channel migrant arrivals in 2024 totalled 36,816

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y45dmg2pjo#:~:text=Home%20Office%20figures%20released%20on,as%20many%20as%20in%202022.

It'll be over 50k after a full year of 'smash the gangs' Labour.

Ok. I will answer you. Since you have absolutely ignored my question about how many asylum seekers you personally know. I have no doubt the answer is none.

1. in the main. Yes. These are different cultures who do things differently. It is not the way we generally do it in Britain, but it is culturally normal for them. There are always exceptions and awful people. But they are the exception in my experience
2. Ever seen the ports in France? France does fuck all for asylum seekers and whilst you might agree with that stop for a minute and think. If YOU were in their situation what would you do? Stop somewhere shit or go a bit further to somewhere it’s (so not!) better?
3. Yes. And I have.

So now YOU answer me. How many asylum seekers do you PERSONALLY know? How many claims have YOU dealt with? How much, if any, personal time or money has it cost YOU?

Asylum seekers are a drop in the bucket, regardless of which side of that debate you come down on.

Legal immigration is having far more of an effect on this country - maybe we should start with that?

Why do people cite the 20k figure, it's been on many threads and is incorrect

That doesn't include the families mentioned in the pp at 50 per day

Evidence we try to avoid ECHR or have a lower bar for asylum? Or is that just your prejudice showing?

families can only come when asylum is granted, so they are also refugees. They aren’t channel crossers. The bulk of immigration is by conventional, non-asylum means.

Most of the country isn’t ’paved over’. We always had plenty of money to funnel into Tory mates pockets. Maybe they could give it back?

families can only come when asylum is granted, so they are also refugees. They aren’t channel crossers.

Yes that's what my post said that figure didn't include them

The 20k is still incorrect and often stated

I have worked with Asylum seekers. It’s not personal, many good kind people. But we as a nation are not in a position to keep acting like rich people doling out aid all the time. In local government there is no money for housing, care or education. If the powers that be want Asylum seekers they need to ensure that services are available. Sadly, the ruling classes want cheap labour but don’t want to pay for decent services and support for Asylum seekers.

Germany's (left-leaning) Chancellor coming under pressure here;

22 Jan 2025

BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz's response to a fatal knife attack allegedly perpetrated by an Afghan man in southern Germany on Wednesday marks a clear shift in his rhetoric on migration ahead of a national election.

The attack on a group of pre-school children killed two — including a two-year-old boy — shocking Germans at a time when migration has become a pivotal issue ahead of the Feb. 23 vote.

“I am tired of these violent crimes occurring every few weeks, perpetrated by individuals who came to us seeking protection,” the chancellor said. “Misguided tolerance has no place here.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/olaf-scholz-germany-knife-attack-migration-election/

I think the next two paras are pertinent.

The suspect in the stabbing, a 28-year-old Afghan, arrived in Germany in late 2022 and subsequently applied for asylum, according to Joachim Hermann, Bavaria’s interior minister. The suspect was previously treated in a psychiatric facility, according to Hermann, and authorities suspect mental illness played a role in the attack.

The suspect declared his intent to leave Germany in December 2024, but remained in the country. Authorities say there is no evidence of a political motive.

@Clavinova I'd have no problem with deportation of non born residents found guilty if certain crimes being deported. I am guessing this is incredibly difficult and I need to understand why. Is it resources or legislation and I wonder if Germany follows the same constraints.

I understood why people are pissed at this. How it is managed though is the cause for concern.

I don't know exactly how Australia manage all this and if they have a reliance on economically supportive migrants.

I also don't understand if economic migrants propping up the NHS end up taking more than they give and if they do well we still need them 🤷‍♀️

I would love a full enquiry into the Royal Family. I wish someone could and would do that 😆

@Clavinova it looks like the GE will see Scholz out and the centre right and AfD as second

We might lag but Germany is likely to push on border issues

It always baffles me that people think they have any more right to a good life than anyone else. It’s just a lucky accident of birth that you are not born somewhere with a miserable quality of life or serious danger to your life. I don’t care whether people are genuine asylum seekers or not, they’re welcome to compete for the best life they can in my book. Plenty of locals are criminals bastards too so I don’t actually care about that aspect either.

I hate nationalism, I think it’s evil and a form of legitimate oppression of others.

What do you do here. You can't really even ' send him back ' because he's mentally unwell and I'm sure somewhere someone is thinking he has some human right to help. There's no comfortable easy to deliver answer.

@Yoheresthestory a huge part of me really feels this and agrees with it. Yet I get uncomfortable also. It does take alot of self reflection to understand what really drives our feelings on this.

If I lived in a certain area experiencing certain things I'd have strong views another way I'm sure. I think our experience and locations impact how we are swayed by the stories on TV and our view on this. Some people have no direct experience and it's all fed by the media I see that.