Even UKIP Say This Is Wrong The government have revealed a new initiative, being piloted in London boroughs, to encourage illegal immigrants to return voluntarily. This initiative has involved driving a van around Hounslow, Barking & Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge carrying a large billboard emblazoned with the message ‘GO HOME OR FACE ARREST’.
Further, there were reports of multiple arrests taking place last week, after numerous stop and searches were being carried out to target ‘immigration offenders’ in the UK. Most worryingly there have been reports of these random stops being carried out on the basis of ‘racial profiling’. These recent trends, in the context of many recent government ‘initiatives’, show that the government is starting to employ more extreme tactics in their immigration policies. Many people have objected strongly to the use of the words ‘Go Home’ on the pilot billboards, due to the inflammatory language being used and the likelihood that it will increase racial tension. The billboards have also been criticised for ignoring the many scenarios in which a person not legally in the UK can regularise their status in the UK rather than ‘Go Home’. It is further concerning to hear that random stop and searches are taking place of individuals on the street. It appears that as a result of these stop and searches, 130 arrests took place, with a number of people being required to attend an Immigration Reporting Centre with further evidence of their identity. However, there is no mechanism that the police or the Home Office can use to easily identify whether someone is legally in the UK. There will be many people who have entered the UK without needing to pass through visa controls (eg if they have come from the European Union). In addition, particularly if a person has travelled to the UK a number of years ago, there may be no record of a particular individual in the Home Office database, even though