Britain’s immigration regime thrown into disarray with the exit of Amber Rudd

Britain’s tough approach to immigration was thrown into uncertainty as the minister in charge of the Home Office, Amber Rudd, stepped down late on Sunday, following several weeks of intense scrutiny of her policies both towards illegal immigration and Commonwealth nations.

This is the fifth governmental resignation since last year’s general election, adding to the tumult at the heart of government with less than a year to Brexit and weeks before talks on Britain’s involvement in the EU customs union are set to take place. She was replaced by Sajid Javid, a cabinet member who will be the first South Asian to head the Home Office.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Rudd acknowledged she had “inadvertently misled” MPs on a parliamentary committee when testifying last week that she had not been aware of departmental targets for the deportation of illegal migrants.

Following the testimony several documents were leaked to the press that suggested targets had indeed been set by the department as part of efforts to cut net migration to the UK from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.

‘Clear targets’

On Sunday The Guardian newspaper revealed that she had written to Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017 outlining “ambitious but deliverable” plans to increase the number of illegal migrants deported by over 10 per cent in coming years.

“Clearly there were targets, and Amber Rudd was aware of them,” said Labour’s spokesperson on home affairs, Dianne Abbott, who called on the government to change its “hostile environment” policies that had created the context of the crisis, pointing to May, who had preceded Rudd as home minister, and had been responsible for putting together the tougher immigration regime currently under scrutiny.

“The architect of this crisis, Theresa May, must now step forward to give an immediate, full and honest account of how this inexcusable situation happened on her watch,” she added. The crisis has unfolded rapidly over the past few weeks after it emerged that changes to Britain’s immigration system had resulted in injustices to members of the Windrush generation — men and women largely from former British colonies in the Caribbean whose families had been encouraged to come to England to fill acute labour shortages before legislation in 1971 no longer gave Commonwealth nationals the right to remain in the UK.

Because new rules required individuals to produce documentation to receive a host of public services, and treated anyone without documentation as illegal, many who were British citizens were treated as illegals.

Some were unable to work, some were denied life-saving medical treatment, or were unable to return to Britain from holiday abroad or even deported.

It is not known exactly how many could have been impacted though there are fears that it could have impacted others from across the Commonwealth, including from India.

According to the Oxford Migration Observatory, an estimated 57,000 non-UK nationals arrived in Britain before 1971, including 13,000 from India. Many may have had documentation to demonstrate their status and therefore not face the difficulties of the Windrush generation.

Sources at the Indian High Commission in London said they had not been contacted by anyone over such difficulties.

Despite the government’s setting up of a taskforce to help Commonwealth citizens who were struggling because of the lack of documentation from that period, the controversy refused to die down, escalating into a wider challenge to the government’s immigration regime. The suggestion was that the Windrush generation had been impacted only because of a government obsession with meeting immigration targets and creating a hostile environment, driving a quest for new ways to raise the numbers of deportations.

When visiting India in 2016, May had indicated Britain’s willingness to consider an improved visa deal for India “if at the same time, we can step up the speed and volume of return of Indians with no right to remain in the UK.” India had indicated its willingness to update and sign an MoU on the return of illegal migrants that lapsed in 2014, but the agreement has been subject to delays and was not signed during Modi’s recent visit to the UK.

Wider challenges

Rudd’s departure raises wider challenges for the government. She was a close ally of the Prime Minister, replacing her during a televised debate during the election last year. She was also one of the ministers most in favour of a “soft,” Brexit, so her departure will threaten the fragile balance in the cabinet ahead of a crucial period for policy, and legislation passing through Parliament.

However, the biggest question will undoubtedly centre on the direction of the UK’s immigration policy and the tough regime that May and Rudd championed.

“The last few weeks have proven, beyond doubt that the immigration system is broken. Changes in personnel will not repair trust, nor will they undo the damage of the last decade. We need an urgent public inquiry and a new vision for a fairer, more humane (system),” said Satbir Singh, CEO of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Migrants.”

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