‘Ill-conceived', ‘nasty' and ‘divisive'. This is my take on the Government's latest hare-brained scheme to divert attention from their failings on deporting illegal immigrants.
But don't take my word for it. These are the words from a strange and eclectic combination of a Labour council leader, the leader of UKIP and a former minister in the coalition government.
As I am sure you have read, the Government has launched a pilot scheme to ‘encourage illegal immigrants to leave the UK voluntarily' in six of the most diverse London boroughs. The scheme, they said, would use poster vans to target illegal immigrants and encourage them to contact the Home Office so that they could arrange deportation back to their home country.
The Government's aim sounds reasonable enough. After all, most people think that those who are abusing the system should face deportation, just as they think we should help those who seek refuge status or asylum from torture.
However, it is not the final result that is in question; it is the way in which they are going about it. Vans driving round the streets of some of the most diverse parts of Britain emblazoned with the words ‘Go home or face arrest' are no different to the signs outside establishments in the 1950's which said ‘no Irish, no blacks, no dogs'.
Any government minister, from any political party, should ask three questions of their officers before embarking on a campaign of this nature. Why are officers pushing
this campaign at me? How will it affect the law-abiding residents of those boroughs being targeted? And finally, will it work?
To take these three questions in order: Why is the Government doing this in the first place? The Home Secretary could genuinely believe illegal immigrants who have travelled thousands of miles to reach our shores and spent their life savings bribing people to help them enter the UK will voluntarily hand themselves over to the authorities upon catching sight of a government van. Alternatively, one could argue that the Government is using this deeply unpleasant campaign as a fig leaf to hide its own incompetence.
The national immigration service, in its various guises has, for years, utterly failed to remove illegal immigrants from Britain. Numerous cross party reports have described the UK Borders Agency and its predecessors in less than glowing terms. The chief inspector of borders and immigration has consistently slammed failings within the organisation. It is with this in mind that I can't help but think that this campaign is a desperate attempt in silly season to mask consistent and irrefutable failure.
Secondly, how will this campaign affect local residents? My own borough of Brent is home to a brilliantly vibrant mix of every nationality under the sun. It thrives and thrills because of this. And despite this diversity, or maybe because of it, we have a very strong common identity and sense of a single community across the borough. To have a government literally drive these ill-considered and offensive vans through our streets without consulting civic, religious or neighbourhood leaders is a recipe for resentment.
Anyone who understands my local area would tell the Home Office that ‘Go home or face arrest' is not an appropriate message for our borough or places like it.
The speed at which these vans drive through the targeted boroughs will ensure that the majority of residents will only be able to take in the headline message. ‘Go home or face arrest' sounds like some of the worst calls from the EDL or BNP and yet this is sanctioned by Whitehall. These vans should not be driving round Brent or any other borough. But this message should be given out to whichever marketing firm or government office came up with this dangerous idea, which has the potential to divide communities, breed distrust and isolate civic leaders from the people we serve.
Finally, will this campaign even work? The number of illegal immigrants voluntarily leaving the UK has, according to the Government's own figures, flatlined. Maybe a tough love approach does need to be adopted? Yet, put yourself in the shoes of an illegal immigrant just for one moment. You are walking along a street. You have risked death to get here. You are unlikely to speak English very well. You also want to keep your head down in case you are stopped.
You see a van zoom past. In the event you are literate in English you see that it says ‘go home or face arrest' and that ‘106 arrests' were made ‘last week in your area'. The van instructs you to text the Government. What are the chances you text that number, let alone have a mobile phone?
The Government needs to listen, think again and quietly park this van of stupidity for good.
