Windrush Generation

Since I posted last I've read about what mostlyharmless has quoted. It does seem that policies Theresa May put in place when she was in charge of the Home Office are at fault here because they have been applied where they shouldn't have been applied.

It is a very embarassing situation for TM. Like maiz, I too "wonder if her HO civil servants told her it would cause problems?" If they didn't, if nobody did, then some civil servants were unprofessionally at fault too.

"Because it was no longer possible to search in the archive of landing cards, people would be sent a standard letter that would state: ‘We have searched our records, we can find no trace of you in our files.^

That is one of the worst things I've seen yet about this affair. How utterly irresponsible of 'the Home Office'. There must have been someone who made that decision though.

As to denying that this mess is not the responsibility of this government I'll repeat what I said on the thread in News & Politics. It was May, when at the Home Office, who introduced the requirement for people to prove their legal right to be here when opening bank accounts, renting property, and going for NHS treatment. She did it by statutory instrument i.e without consulting parliament. I wonder if her HO civil servants told her it would cause problems?

I would suspect that the former colonial/commonwealth people who had been given Indefinite Leave to Remain in the 1970s either didn't even know about the legislation or thought it didn't apply to them.

This was part of Theresa May’s “hostile environment policy” aimed at removing illegal immigrants.
It is a boast that Theresa May has been repeating for the past five years. “The aim is to create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants,” she said in 2012 when, as home secretary, she was challenged on why annual net immigration, then running at about 250,000, was stubbornly above the Conservatives’ controversial “tens of thousands” target.

An ex Home Office worker says:

From around 2013 onwards, he said, the number of requests from people from the Caribbean began to increase.

“Every week or two, someone would say: ‘I’ve got another one here,’” he said. “People were writing to say: ‘I’ve been here 45 years, I’ve never had a passport, I’ve never needed a passport. Now I’m being told I’m not British, because there is no record of me’.

“Because it was no longer possible to search in the archive of landing cards, people would be sent a standard letter that would state: ‘We have searched our records, we can find no trace of you in our files.’”

I am not sure that it was dealt with swiftly monica

In 2010: (under Theresa May’s Home Office regime)
The Home Office destroyed thousands of landing card slips recording Windrush immigrants’ arrival dates in the UK, despite staff warnings that the move would make it harder to check the records of older Caribbean-born residents experiencing residency difficulties.
From today’s Guardian.

on Syria

paddyann

Which vote?

I was impressed by David Lammy's speech in the HOC .yesterday.It's a great shame there aren't more like him in his party.There might be an opposition worthy of the name.Last nights vote/abstaining was a shambles .

Like everyone I was appalled when I heard about this and I am relieved that it was dealt with so swiftly.

What I do not understand is why Home Office officials ever found time to identify who these people are, never mind find them. With the current back log of asylum claims and illegal immigrants awaiting the results of appeals, not to mention child refugees in camps in France who have family over here ready to receive them, once formalities are completed, what on earth were home office officials wasting time on these people.

This Issue of Windrush child immigrants reflects very badly on the Home Office under Theresa May’s watch.
The Home Office has obviously known about this problem for a while - but only when there’s lots of adverse publicity about it is anything done.

The problem is being dealt with as we speak. If it wasn't being dealt with and there hadn't been an apology for it, then would I feel ashamed of my country's handling of the situation. The problem was not caused by the current government.

That said, Amber Rudd has been critical of the Home Office, saying they concentrate too much on procedure and rules and sometimes forget that individuals are involved through no fault of their own.

A problem has arisen because of omissions in the past. Now it is being dealt with. Sounds like government doing something useful to me (and, for those who like to label people as this- or that-wing, I'd be saying exactly the same things whatever the current flavour of government).

The Windrush Children was debated ain Parliament yesterday .

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-04-16/debates/7234878F-ACEE-48DD-A94C-9013B38FA465/WindrushChildren(ImmigrationStatus)

Prior to the above she said this-

" I am deeply concerned about the recent experiences of people from the Windrush generation in terms of the appeal for their documentation and any confusion that has caused. This is a unique cohort of people who have automatic leave under our legislation and therefore are entitled to reside here lawfully. The vast majority will already have documentation that proves their right to be here. For those who do not, I am today announcing a new dedicated team to help them evidence their right to be in this country and access services.

The team will be tasked with helping applicants to demonstrate that they are entitled to live in the UK, and with resolving cases within two weeks of the evidence being provided. The team will work across Government to help applicants to prove they have been living or working in the UK. Of course, no one should be left out of pocket as they go through this process. Given the uniqueness of the situation in which the group find themselves, I therefore intend to ensure that they will not pay for this documentation.

We have already set up a webpage and dedicated contact point for people with concerns, and I have been engaging with charities, community groups and high commissioners to reassure people. The Prime Minister will meet Heads of Government tomorrow, and I will be meeting high commissioners later this week.
--
There is no question of going after any soft targets or of our trying to single out a particular cohort—and, yes, we do go after the illegal cohort. It is because we do that that some of these people have been caught up in the process. As I referenced earlier, it was the Labour party that put in place the labour market tests in 2008, meaning that people had to evidence their right to work here, but because the Windrush cohort has been caught up in this, I am making that sure we put in place particular arrangements to support them."
--

I think both sides of the house accepted the way the 'Windrush Children' have been treated in some cases has been disgraceful and I hope Amber Rudd having taken full responsibility gets this right.

I don’t think Theresa May has any idea of what she started when Home Secretary - it is Amanda Rudd who had done all the apologising and stated that it will be put right. She has needed to do the before with something else TM got wrong when she was HS.

The whole situation is appalling and beyond belief. What is really worrying is that it has happened at all.
Surely such a decision would have required a ‘rubber stamp’ by the Home Secretary, if not the Cabinet? Even, a discussion in Parliament.
It makes me wonder what else is going on without consultation, apart from the obvious recent unilateral decisions.

It seems that basic common sense has disappeared ...people just "apply rules" rather than thinking "hang on a minute this is questionable to apply these rules for this person" and then discussing with seniors who might make the people who can do something about it aware of the issue !! See it in so many areas these days! Ridiculous!

It has just been announced on BBC news that the Windrush Generation will not be deported and an apology is forthcoming. What a disgraceful shambles.

Like you Hermia, this makes me ashamed to be British, absolutely disgraceful, shameful. I am struck by the dignity of the people I have seen being interviewed, dignity and respect which they have not been given by a state which has been happy enough to deduct taxes for 40 odd years but suddenly questions right to live here. It is all very well the current Home Secretary blaming the civil service for this, she is ultimately in charge and responsible for the actions of her department, and I think we will find out soon that there have been reports of this shameful action and it has been ignored.

Ms May does at least seem to realise that it’s a B***l’s up. Computerisation and a higher rate of immigration with increasing population probably means that common sense and human input has gone out of the window as the machines take over. The humans involved now just do as the machine tells them. Four pieces of evidence required. No question, no common sense.

I certainly couldn’t fulfil the requirements as I didn’t get a passport until 20 years ago and, as I stayed home to look after the children, all bills etc were in my husbands name. I didn’t exist until I tried to get a Blockbusters pass and couldn’t as only my bank account was in my name and I needed two pieces of evidence to confirm my address! (I then took over the phone bill.)

The people on the Windrush thought they'd be welcome, as many of them had fought (and died) for Britain in WW2.
A bit like the position of the Ghurkas.

It's an absolute disgrace.

Strange this has all come up at the time these people are due to recieve their pensions. One woman said her driving licence had been removed, surely that would class as a piece of evidence and has been taken away from her???

I'm relieved this is finally getting the high level of publicity needed. I knew of one young woman facing deportation, who came to England as a child to join family members. When she was in her 30's she was warned she was 'illegal' and would be deported. She was the mother of two children, born in Britain. She lost housing benefit on her home in London and was shipped to a northern town where rents were cheaper. She lost family support, the children lost contact with their fathers. An absolute disgrace and disaster.

This is incredible and unacceptable.
And how come it's been going on for so long?

It is a disgusting policy. The Home office has been demanding 4 pieces of evidence for each year of residence in the UK which is absurd. Many of the people involved have their National Insurance records or their school certificates etc - but not 4 separate pieces of evidence.

How many of us could suddenly produce 4 pieces of evidence for each of the last 40 years? Especially when none of this was needed before 2014.

It has been reported in the news here and I have been trying to explain everything to DD as SIL and some of her friends want to know what it is all about. No matter how you word it, it is just a disgusting way to treat people and does not show the UK in a good light at all.