UK Immigration

10 Key excerpts on "UK Immigration"

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  Does Immigration Increase Crime?

  Migration Policy and the Creation of the Criminal Immigrant

  • Francesco Fasani, Giovanni Mastrobuoni, Emily G. Owens, Paolo Pinotti(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  After reviewing previous research on the British context, we provide new 54 empirical evidence on this issue. The chapter ends with some con- cluding remarks in Section 3.6. 3.2 immigration in the uk: policy, numbers, and flows 3.2.1 Immigration Policy The UK has long been a destination country for migratory flows across the globe. Part of this history of immigration is due to the arrival of nationals from former British colonies and Commonwealth countries (e.g. India and Jamaica). Citizens of the former British Empire tradi- tionally enjoyed free movement and settlement rights in the UK, although these entitlements were gradually restricted in the 1960s and 1970s. Free access was instead granted to Irish nationals and, increasingly over time, to European citizens. The ‘Conservative era’ – lasting from 1980 to 1997 under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher and John Major – saw fairly limited inflows of immigrant workers. These relatively low levels of immi- gration were the consequence of restrictive immigration policies, economic recessions (in 1980–81 and 1990–91), and the absence of major push factors of international flows during most of the period. The fall of the Iron Curtain and the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s resulted in an increase in the migratory pressure (asylum seekers in particular) on British borders. Starting in 1997, the newly elected Labour government of Tony Blair pushed for a shift in UK Immigration policy, in the direction of allowing more foreign-born workers to enter the country. One of the most relevant actions of this new policy regime was the decision to allow free access to the UK labour market to migrants from the ten ‘New Member States’ (NMS; Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) that joined the EU in May 2004.

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  Crimes of Mobility

  Criminal Law and the Regulation of Immigration

  • Ana Aliverti(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  2   Tracing the history of immigration controls in Britain (from the late 1700s to the mid-1990s)

  Britain has a long and established history of immigration. It has been a point of arrival for people from many latitudes, cultures and places. French insurgents, Jews, Irish, Polish, old and new Commonwealth citizens have all arrived at different times and in large numbers. Britain has one of the largest migrant resident and naturalized populations in Europe, and is still an important destination for asylum seekers (Gibney and Hansen 2003). This chapter traces the first pieces in the construction of the British immigration system and its development in the twentieth century in order to understand the origins of and rationale for recent policies. I will, therefore, provide a brief historical background of immigration legislation and debates before discussing more recent policies in this field. British immigration legislation, since the early twentieth century, established harsh controls over non-nationals and continuously expanded the category of ‘exclusionable’ foreigners. In contrast to the more widely accepted view in criminology (e.g. Albrecht 2000; Miller 2003; Wacquant 2006; De Giorgi 2010; Sklansky 2012), I will demonstrate that the criminalization of migration is not new. Immigration-related offences or ‘immigration crimes’ – some of them punishable by imprisonment – have been incorporated in immigration statutes since the late 1700s.

  The development of British immigration controls

  [A]nd the East End of London was being swamped by aliens who were coming in like an army of locusts, eating up the native population or turning them out.1

  In the late eighteenth century, there was an influx of French émigrés to Britain, following the radicalization of the French Revolution which led to the formation in France of the Committee of Public Safety during the ‘Reign of Terror’. The British government suspected that many of those French people were involved in the Revolution and feared that they would advocate for ‘atheist’ and ‘anarchist’ ideas once in Britain (Troup 1925: 142; Cohen 1994: 41). As a response, in 1793, Parliament passed the Aliens Act (AA 1793).2 This is the first act authorizing the executive to exclude foreigners from the country during peace time (Dinwiddy 1968). Furthermore, the act included a plethora of sanctions to be imposed against ‘aliens’3 who failed to comply with regulations regarding their entry to and residence in the country. It contained rules on their landing, their registration, their residence and their obligation to carry a passport issued by the British authorities. It not only imposed fines ranging from £10 to £100 on masters or commanders of ships and vessels and on ‘housekeepers of dwelling houses’ who in any way failed to comply with those rules. It also subjected foreigners in breach of those rules to detention and imprisonment upon conviction. For instance, foreigners who did not exhibit their passports when so requested were liable to up to a month in prison if convicted for that crime, and were ordered to depart from the kingdom at the expiration of the sentence. In the case of non-compliance with such an order, convicted foreigners were liable to be ‘transported for life’.4 Alternatively, foreigners accused of such an offence could be ‘discharged’ or directed to depart from the country.5

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  The Politics of Immigration in France, Britain, and the United States

  A Comparative Study

  • M. Schain(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  C H A P T E R S I X Understanding British Immigration Policy The issues discussed in the first chapter, and then applied to the French case in chapter 3 (why people migrate; control over frontiers; the impact of immigration; and questions of integration and incorporation), look somewhat different from the perspective of the British case. Thus, unlike France, Britain was a country of net emigration until the end of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, large numbers of immigrants arrived all during that period, and their arrival was shaped by evolving British policy. By and large, the frontiers of Britain are often said to be better defined and more easily controlled than those of France—but are they? Until well after the postwar period, the frontiers of Britain were embedded in the empire and then the commonwealth. Indeed, these frontiers have still not been entirely separated, even after legislation that has more or less resolved the question of UK citizenship. The impact of immigration on British political and social life has been similar in some ways, and different in others, to the impact in France. On one hand, the general impact on public opinion has been similar. Reactions in public opinion polls against third-world immigrants from the former empire and commonwealth have been largely negative (as in France), but the political consequences have been different. In part, these reactions, and anticipated reactions, have forced a succession of British governments to rethink and fundamentally redefine British citizenship. On the other hand, there has been no serious political party challenger from the extreme Right that has successfully exploited these reactions. Finally, Gilbert and Sullivan aside, the meaning of being British has never been a preoccupation in Britain. As long as Britain was embedded within the empire, and there was no explicit British citizenship, this did not matter much.

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  Immigration Policymaking in the Global Era

  In Pursuit of Global Talent

  • N. Duncan(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  More specifi- cally, I trace the process underlying the United Kingdom’s adoption of the 82 Immigration Policymaking in the Global Era points system. First, I present the historical background of immigration policy in the United Kingdom. I then examine the pressures and drivers of the policy search. Next, I analyze the government’s response in light of these challenges. Finally, I examine the constellation of actors (domestic and international) and institutional factors that lined to produced policy adoption. Background That the Home Office’s latest aim with the points-based system is to keep out the unwanted is unsurprising. It is in tune with previous policy regarding economic migration into the United Kingdom. Traditionally, the United Kingdom’s immigration policy emphasized keeping intake numbers low, as close to zero as possible (Joppke 1999; Layton-Henry 1994). While today the emphasis is not about keeping numbers low, it is still about keeping out “undesirables.” Britain was historically a country of emigration until World War II when that trend reversed as immigrants came to outnumber emigrants. The increase in intake was a result of labor shortages experienced dur- ing the early postwar years with many immigrants originating from the “New Commonwealth,” consisting of the Caribbean, India, and African colonies. Because of labor shortages and stiff competition from its Euro- pean neighbors in recruiting southern European immigrants, the British encouraged immigration from the New Commonwealth. In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave these colonial subjects and former colonial subjects freedom of movement and all the rights and privileges as British citizens (Layton-Henry 2004). However, the upsurge of immigrants from the former colonies stimu- lated concerns about restricting immigration, particularly of nonwhites. Subsequently, immigration policy was changed to keep out these so-called unwanted migrants and to keep immigration at low levels.

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  Foreigners, minorities and integration

  The Muslim immigrant experience in Britain and Germany

  • Sarah Hackett(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Manchester University Press

    (Publisher)

  IntroductionA history of immigration to modern Britain and Germany: national and local perspectives The national contexts

  The history of immigration to Britain and West Germany in the postwar period has traditionally been seen as one of contrasts.1 The reasons for this were not new to the post-1945 era, but rather were entrenched in both countries’ histories. Britain has often been perceived as a country with a long tradition of migration and one that was perhaps destined to become multi-racial. The black soldiers who fought in the Roman armies that invaded Britain, the migrants who arrived from the Indian subcontinent during the 1600s and 1700s, and the Yemeni seamen who settled in dockland areas from the mid-nineteenth century act as testimony to this.2 Furthermore, the British Empire ensured that people from all corners of the globe felt a connection with the ‘mother country’. Indeed Britain’s role as the imperial hub for a quarter of the world’s surface guaranteed a widespread familiarity with the British language, education system and way of life.3 Germany, by contrast, is a young country that, following its unification in 1871, displayed both nationalistic and racial ideology. In its short history, the notions of race and minority groups have never been far from its political agenda, whether in the form of racial hierarchy, exclusion and persecution, or xenophobia and discrimination.4

  Other contrasts between Britain and Germany’s immigration histories also exist and have been well documented in the historiography. Starting with its unification, Germany implemented a policy of Germanisation, the legacy of which lasted throughout the twentieth century. Furthermore, its völkisch ethno-cultural nationhood arguably shaped a national identity that limited the recognition of foreigners in the country. This was further accentuated by its status as the only major European immigration country with a pure jus sanguinis notion of citizenship. Britain’s imperial policy, on the contrary, whilst undoubtedly based on a racial hierarchy to some extent, never widely consisted of overt racial persecution. Furthermore, British citizenship was comparably more accessible as a result of the concept of jus soli , allowing immigrants to become integrated. In essence, by the second half of the twentieth century, Britain had a strong multi-ethnic tradition to act as the foundation for post-1945 immigration whilst Germany did not.5

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  The Politics of Immigration in France, Britain, and the United States

  A Comparative Study

  • M. Schain(Author)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  C H A P T E R S I X Understanding British Immigration Polic y The issues analyzed in the first chapter, and then applied to the French case in chapter 3 (why people migrate; control over frontiers; the impact of immigration; and questions of integration and incorporation), look somewhat different from the perspective of the British case. Thus, unlike France, Britain was a countr y of net emigration unti l the end of t he t went ieth centur y . Never theless, large numbers of immigrants arrive d all during that period, and their arrival was shaped—if not controlled—by evolving British pol icy . By and large, the f rontiers of Britain are of ten said to be better def ined, and more easi ly cont rolled than those of France—but t t are they? Unti l well af ter the post-war period, the f rontiers of Britain were embedded in the Empire and then the Commonwealth. Indeed, these f rontiers have sti ll not been entirely separated, even af ter legislation that has more of less resolved the question of UK citizenship. The i mpact of immigrat ion on Brit ish pol it ical and social l i fe has been simi lar in some ways, and di fferent in others, f rom the i mpact in France. On one hand, the general impact on public opinion has been similar. m Reactions in public opi nion poll s against third world immigrants from the former Empire and Commonwealth have been largely negative (as in France), but the political consequences have been different. In part, these reactions, and anticipated reactions, have forced a succession of British governments to rethink and fundamentally redefine British citizenship, but often in unanticipated ways. On the other hand, there has been no serious political party challenger from the extreme right that has success- fully exploited these reactions. Finally, Gilbert and Sullivan aside, the meaning of being British has d never been a preoccupation in Britain.

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  The Economics of UK-EU Relations

  From the Treaty of Rome to the Vote for Brexit

  • Nauro F. Campos, Fabrizio Coricelli, Nauro F. Campos, Fabrizio Coricelli(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Portes micro-level data, it is clear that—outside London at least—perceptions of the impact of migration were indeed a key factor in driving the Leave vote. Immigration has long been a salient and disputed issue in British politics. This was the case 40 years ago; the government’s decision to admit a substantial number of refugees of Indian ethnicity from former British colonies in East Africa was hotly disputed, and then as now a large majority favoured much tighter restrictions on immigration to the UK. But it scarcely figured as an issue in the 1975 referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union (then the European Economic Community). 1 Indeed, if anything, there was actually a small negative correlation between attitudes to immigration and to the EU (that is, those who thought immigration was too high were slightly more likely to vote to stay in (Evans and Mellon 2015). So, what changed, and how did the UK get to this position? This chapter looks both forward and backward. It examines the history of free movement within the EU, and in particular the origins and impact of the decision to allow immediate access to the UK labour market for workers from the new Member States in 2004. It discusses the economic and labour market impacts of migration from elsewhere in the EU to the UK. It then considers the impact of the referendum, and possible options for changes to UK Immigration policy after Brexit. 2 Free Movement of Workers Long before the UK joined, the EU was founded on four basic principles: free movement of labour, capital, goods and services. These “four free- doms” were set out in the original Treaty of Rome, which spoke of the “abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to the free movement of persons” (European Commission 1957).

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  The New Americans

  A Guide to Immigration since 1965

  • Mary C. Waters, Reed Ueda, Mary C. Waters, Reed Ueda, Helen B. Marrow(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Harvard University Press

    (Publisher)

  Economic differentials were usually not sufficient in themselves to gen-erate the movement of populations, however. The impulse for self-betterment and the willingness to live and work in another country were based on social communi-cation about immigration opportunities and also on subjective factors shaped by at-titudes toward risk and a psychology of future-mindedness. From the cold war to the start of the 21st century, immigration achieved unprec-edented velocity, mass, spatial extension, and complexity. Concurrent with waves of permanent settlement, transient migration and repeat migration developed into commonplace phenomena, and the maintenance by migrants of active connections with their homelands coexisted with their integration into their host nations through acquisition of citizenship, acculturation, and social mobility. Through international migration, the whole world was in motion as never be-fore. Estimates of the global total of international migrants rose from 75 million in 1965 to 120 million in 1990 and to 175 million in 2000. The number of immi-grants grew more in the last decade of the 20th century than it had in the previous 17 Immigration in Global Historical Perspective 25 years. Furthermore, it is likely that the cumulative worldwide total of immi-grants in the last half of the 20th century surpassed the total of immigrants from 1830 to 1930. Throughout the 500-year evolution of modern world migration, the 13 colonies in British America and the successor United States acted as a destination hub of in-ternational migration. The role of the U.S. in the globalization of international mi-gration became paramount because it was produced by powerful long-term histori-cal trends. In the country’s colonial beginnings, the search for and recruitment of immigrants was a matter of constant concern.

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  European Immigrants in Britain 1933–1950

  • Johannes-Dieter Steinert, Inge Weber-Newth, Johannes-Dieter Steinert, Inge Weber-Newth(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter Saur

    (Publisher)

  44 Andreas Fahrmeir perspective on the nineteenth century does something to change our view of the twentieth. In many European states, the outlines of migration policy were more or less fixed - after a period of some experimentation 4 - by the end of the nineteenth century. The tools which are still used for migration control today (passports, 5 visas, residence permits and so forth) were developed by this time. These norms remained largely unaltered up to the 1930s. Moreover, certain national traditions which were if not to determine, then at least to influence how migration control was conceived and implemented, date back to this pe-riod. Developments in Britain were different from those in continental Europe. British policies progressed from no immigration restrictions between 1826 and 1905 to severe restrictions on the immigration of foreigners and refugees in the late 1930s. It is the purpose of this essay to trace this evolution, and, by doing so, to emphasise some of the particular characteristics of Britain's im-migration policies in comparison with those of other European countries. Traditions of national migration policies had little to do with 'national character' or incompatible conceptions of nationality. 6 The formulation of immigration policies always involved a considerable degree of international cooperation and negotiation. However, every national bureaucracy developed models, priorities and precedents to which it would likely return, because they were recorded in archives maintained in order to provide such informa-tion. This tended to make migration policy 'path dependent', in the sense that decisions taken at one point were difficult to undo. 7 One characteristic of British migration policies was the concern about the impact they would have on relations between the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Commonwealth.

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  Constructions of Migrant Integration in British Public Discourse

  Becoming British

  • Sam Bennett(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Bloomsbury Academic

    (Publisher)

  Since 1945 there has been large-scale migration ‘out of, with and to Europe’ (Düvell 2006: 14), and three phases of European immigration since the Second World War can be identified (Lahav 2004). The first phase is the immediate post-war period Constructions of Migrant Integration in British Public Discourse 56 56 up to the end of the 1960s during which immigration was propelled by imperatives of economic reconstruction, a Fordist system of industry that required the ‘active recruit-ment of migrants’, and a laissez-faire approach to immigration control (Triandafyllidou, Gropas and Vogel 2007: 1). The main inward flows were (post-)colonial in nature, such as workers from India and the Caribbean in the UK, from North Africa in France, Central Africa in Belgium and South East Asian migration to the Netherlands, as well as guest workers from Turkey in Germany. There was also internal migration in Europe from the South (Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece) to more economically thriv-ing northern countries. A second distinct phase of European migration ran from the 1970s to 1989. The early 1970s saw a change in migration dynamics because of the fall in growth and increase in unemployment precipitated by the oil crisis and new technology (Lahav 2004: 30). Development of southern European economies, especially the third sec-tor, reduced economic push factors in those countries. Up to this point there was a general consensus of mainstream political parties in countries of high immigration on the issue of immigration and how to approach it. However, as it became evident that many of those who had come initially for work had now settled and intended to stay, migration became politicized, with far-right parties appearing, and increasingly loud calls for restrictions being heeded. Thus the late 1970s saw a period of greater government intervention on stopping labour migration and encouraging repatriation (Lahav 2004: 30).

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