With Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expected to admit the UK has lost control of its borders at a summit in London later today, immigrants in the capital have accused the government of catering to the Right.
In the past week, Labour has strewn across a slate of policy proposals including the controversial ‘Brit card’, a requirement for all migrants to hold A-Level standard English to work, and an unprecedented 32% increase in the immigration skills charge.
Immigrants across the city spoke to the Londoners on what they think of Labour’s immigration policies.
Maryam Osman, 27, a student at Kings College London said: “In all honesty, I do think immigrants should be able to speak English – just as much for their own wellbeing as for the public’s.
“But there are already IELTs and a BI English requirement to work here, so I would ask the government who will be funding the services to help immigrants in this country get to a higher level?
“We’re living in a Britain with so many issues, I don’t think that a minor policy change to how well some people in this country speak English should be a priority.”
The sentiment that Mahmood’s policies are a reaction to an increasingly hostile political climate was shared by several interviewees.
Haniya Akhtar, 42, an immigrant working as a teacher in London said: “I think Labour is simply piggy-backing off of the traction that Farage is getting – these policies towards immigrants are a clear attempt to cater to the far-right and regain popularity with the working class.
“Increasing the costs to firms hiring immigrants is practically discriminatory – international students are paying an extortionate amount to learn here, only to find out that nobody wants to hire them.
“A Britain under Labour is supposed to have opportunities for everyone.”
Questions about where Mahmood’s policies will lead were echoed concerning further proposed changes to the immigration skills charge.
Amaan Qureshi, 26, an immigrant working as a consultant at Ernest & Young said: “What the government’s changes to the immigration skills charge will essentially do is raise the cost of hiring an immigrant from £48,000 to £51,000.
“It’s a policy that feels a lot like Trump’s H-1B visa, where a $100,000 fee has been imposed on any applications for visas in higher-skilled jobs – a clear attempt to just get immigrants out of jobs that pay well.
“It would not surprise me if this 30% increase is simply the first step in an attempt to enact a similarly dystopian change here.”
Featured image credit: Andy Taylor via Wikimedia Commons
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