http://www.londoncitizens.org.uk/strangersintocitizens/index.html
For the first time ever, thousands of immigrants, some of the illegal,
marched from Westminster Cathedral to Trafalgar Square with the backing
of faith leaders, politicians and trade unionists, to call for a
“pathway into citizenship” for the 500,000-odd “undocumented migrants”
in the UK who have been left in legal limbo.
Some are refused asylum-seekers, others visa overstayers. Some are in
London having escaped poverty, others persecution. Many work and pay
taxes (using false IDs or NI numbers); others face poverty. But what
they have in common is that they have put down roots in the UK yet are
not recognised by the law.
“Strangers into Citizens” – a campaign by London Citizens – has a
proposal to get them out of that limbo, for their good as well as that
of society. We have studied what has been done elsewhere in Europe –
Spain, for example, legalised 700,000 people in 2005 – and have our own
proposal: that those who have been in the UK for more than four years
should be able to work legally for two years and then (subject to
employer or character references, criminal record checks, an English
test and so on) be given “leave to remain”. This model of “earned
regularisation” has been successfully implemented in the US among other
countries and we think would work well in the UK.
There are now the beginning of discussions to create some sort of
Migration expert resource or advisory group for the Strangers into
Citizens campaign. The idea is to give the campaign regular access to
Academics and other experts who can help the campaign develop evidence
based policies and respond effectively to Migration Watch Histrionics.
This is a perfect opportunity to become involved in "applied migration
theory".
If you would be willing to attend an introductory roundtable in London
in Mid-July please let me know by sending me an email to
[log in to unmask]
This is open to Faculty and Students.
Regards
John Davies
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