So who is going to be brave enough to ask whether Shabana Mahmood's proposed reforms are right/sensible/racist?

[Papyrophile]

Is Shabana Mahmood right or wrong to restrict asylum seeker's rights? In general?

Migrants undertaking boat Crossings are only a small percentage of total migration to UK.

Where did I post on that?

Absolutely right, the granting of permanent residency after just 5 years is crazy and of course people should be sent back if their country becomes safe again.

Whether any of her ideas reduce x channel crossings is another thing.

I don't think it will.

It's a good start.

working in the public sector I have witnessed peoples fear for their jobs. Employees for example who have a small car sticker supporting Brexit were told this is not acceptable. Those employees did not express their views during work hours or even remotely discuss it yet they were told they had to remove it. Employees told they could not have a small Union Jack sticker with a stop the boats slogan on their car. Yet staff allowed to wear the progressive rainbow pin on their lanyard and have a car sticker promoting this. Training courses and briefings where staff are told of the upset that union jacks are causing yet allowing staff to display flags supporting Gaza.The point is free speech is threatened when staff are expressing views outside their workplace (I agree that they should not engage in this within the workplace but think this applies to all critical views in the workplace not just the ones the employer doesn’t agree with.)

I worry that in the willingness not to offend we have let our culture take second place. Our willingness to allow people to have free speech, freedom to worship etc all of which I agree with has been extended over and above that given to the existing culture - that in my view is wrong. Some of those from different countries are trying to change our nation - they are not integrating, I have no objection to people preserving some of their culture but they have to integrate, they have to accept our rules.

On what will happen, I expect if numbers keep steady or go up Labour won’t be able to dismiss this issue as they did at the last GE and other parties will propose tougher stuff. Wait and see I guess

No party is suggesting tougher measures, Reform have rowed back from shooting boats & marines towing them back to France.

Deportations can work but only if there is a country to deport too.

When you see the numbers in Northern France and the inaction of the French Police (what can 3 Gendarmes do against 200 migrants?) one can see the problem on getting worse.

Of course Farage is the reason for all of this, we can't send back migrants and legal migration now takes people from Africa and Asia, instead of Europe.

We never had this problem on this scale when in the EU and Remainers did point out this would happen.

They will of course at the next GE if Labour fail on this too after smash the gangs and one in and one out, and all the other supposed game changers.

And Labour can’t even use culture wars and it’s racist far right next time.

I think, if Labour cannot deliver, the public mood will be for far more harsh measures, which no party can actually deliver on.

Remember too all the game changers the Tories promised us, the solutions Reform have had but then said they wouldn't do, by 2029, no one will believe a word anyone says on this.

I think its dawning on Labour too.

It can be delivered on. It’s not easy but Labour are setting the scene pretty well for a swing to it.

How?
I see no solutions.

The boats are flimsy, so that rules out any tow back, the UK has no where to send 100k plus people and on deterrents, 1000s have drowned crossing the Med, yet the numbers trying keep on coming.

Over 100 have drowned crossing the Channel.

Sending a few hundred to an African country wont change a thing and whats to stop any that do, trying again?

No country in the world wants to have 1000s of people we don;t want housed in their own country.

Unless everyone wants Farage next, then something has to change.

Europe needs to enforce all borders and have multi agency processing centres. Any who are granted asylum, unless they can display evidence of a family in a particular country, or speak the language, won’t have a choice as to where they are sent. Eastern Europe? Hungary got less than 30 asylum applications last year. Albania perhaps?

Mass migration of peoples is driven by push and pull effects working in tandem. Now it may be difficult addressing the push aspects as we have limited influence over domestic policy the developing world, but we could, as sure as eggs is eggs, reduce some of the pull factors.

A policy of no recourse to public funds until you have been in the country at least five years would be a starting point. As would summary deportation for immigration violations - without appeal.

Overnight, I heard that the Home Secretary is preparing to rescind/deny all visas to countries that refuse to accept failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants, starting with Angola, Namibia and the DRC.

Fab! Why the hell should we grant visas to countries who won’t even take their own people back?

If people are here, waiting a year or more to be processed and are unable to be housed and fed two things will happen. Crime will go up and working illegally - and a lot of that illegal work will be for criminals. I am pretty sure it will not stem the boats because the latter happens anyway.
This whole issue has many layers that needs sorting before things will improve imo, there's no quick fix. If there was, it would've been done years ago.

One of the biggest pulls to the UK is that so many people can speak English.... as well as friends and family already here.

We could indeed - once we find out where their country of origin is. Asylum takes about a year to process..

The vast majority of Migrants generally have no recourse to public funds.

Accommodation, healthcare and schooling if required is publicly funded.

It’s a much better prospect than a tent city elsewhere.

Or alternatively, migrants could be processed outside the country.

On Japan, for example, one cannot obtain a visa within the country which is why stopovers. In Korea are (were?) popular.

We do run classes to teach migrants English.

But fair enough, just looking at options to discourage. Make the dispersals more random? Safe country, but no choice. Eventually, once established, migrants would be able to apply via legal routes.