The national obsession with immigration is often difficult to fathom.
The latest furore concerned net immigration figure of 745,000. The throwing around of such figures is misleading, pulling together refugees, economic migrants, students and others in a headline grabbing figure.
The small boats coming across the channel have become a focus of government policy - despite the relatively small numbers involved.
The dehumanising approach of politicians generally explains much of the failure of policy. Crazy schemes like basically trying to scare already frightened refugees into not coming because they could end up in Rwanda, rather than on the gold paved streets of Britain, makes no sense.
There is much talk of targeting the traffickers but they are just a symptom of the problem. The causes behind the creation of refugees are things like war and increasingly environmental degradation. Address these causes if the small boats are such an issue.
The hierarchy of treatment is another thing difficult to fathom, with Britain having a far more welcoming attitude to those coming from say Ukraine and Hong Kong compared to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The mindless attitude to economic migration is even more difficult to understand. In a country with an ageing population and labour shortages, migrant labour is essential to fill the gaps and keep the economy going.
The statistics show migrants add to revenues, they are not a drain. True, infrastructural support needs to be provided but the extra tax coming in from migrant workers should meet this need.
Migrant workers should not of course be allowed to undercut indigenous workers pay and terms and conditions.
Possibly, the most ludicrous target in the migrant wars are foreign students. Further education is one of the few growth areas. It is largely kept going by fees from foreign students but apparently some in government want to stop them coming.
The unhealthy obsession with migration threatens to do great damage to the economic and cultural fabric of society. The categorising of migration as "a problem," helps build fear.
What is needed is a proper recognition of the pluses and minuses of migration. There then needs to be a humane, efficient and welcoming system develop for all the different categories of migrant.
The backlogs need to be cleared. Using people's lives as political footballs is not acceptable.
- Paul Donovan is Labour councillor for Wanstead Village ward, Redbridge Council and a blogger (paulfdonovan.blogspot.com).
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