Thread: Uk Border Agency criticised by Home Affairs Committee

The House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee has released a report which is critical of the lack of progress made by the UK Border Agency in controlling immigration to the UK.

As well as finding that only a small percentage of asylum seekers whose applications are rejected are subsequently removed from the country, the committee expressed concern that UKBA has not carried out checks on all employers registered as sponsors of skilled migrants and does not systematically follow up intelligence about possible illegal migrants. It has “grave doubts” as to whether the agency has the capacity to carry out the necessary checks on sponsors and individuals.

“Though progress has been made, it is clear that the UK Border Agency is still not fit for purpose,” said committee chairman The Right Honourable Keith Vaz. “While there is no doubt that individual caseworkers are dedicated and hard-working, there are serious concerns over the agency's ability to deal with cases and respond to intelligence swiftly and thoroughly.”

Immigration Minister Damian Green responded robustly. “We have known for some time that the asylum system we inherited was chaotic. Some of these cases date back more than a decade, and the UK Border Agency was always clear that, because of the length of time many of these individuals have been in the country, there would be no alternative to granting them leave to remain."

Responding to the report's observations on the immigration system in general, he added, “We are already radically reforming the Points Based System and other routes of entry that have been subject to widespread abuse, and will reintroduce exit checks by 2015.
“We are making greater use of intelligence to remove people with no right to be here, and are concluding individual cases faster.”

No real surprise, an immigration system that's been messed up for years is still messed up?
Probably not much different to anywhere else in Europe, or the USA in that respect.