GMA urged to raise issue of UK crackdown on illegal migrants

A local migrant worker group yesterday urged President Arroyo to bring to the attention of the British government the intensified crackdown of illegal migrants by its immigration authorities in the United Kingdom during her two-day visit to the country this week.

Garry Martinez, chairman of Migrante International, said UK immigration authorities have stepped up its campaign to rid the country of undocumented workers by conducting a string of harsh raids and on-the-spot checks on workplaces and establishments.

“We are also particularly concerned on the recent cases of Filipino students in UK which recently has been the target of UK government’s intensified crackdown. We received several complaints that migrant students were subjected to interrogations by the authorities due to suspicions that they went to UK to work and not to study,” Martinez said.

Last year , the UK imposed a stiffer penalty system wherein employers would have to pay a fine of up to £10,000 for every undocumented migrant they employ. Employers who hire undocumented migrants from outside Europe also face possible jail time.

On Monday, the UK Border Agency raided three car wash establishments in Spalding Road, Gosberton and caught three Iranian failed asylum seekers. The establishments were fined and issued on-the-spot penalty notices for hiring undocumented workers.

In 2007, there were more than 2,000 Filipino students in the UK who are enrolled in English, Information Technology, business and national vocational qualification courses on health and social care.

The number of Filipino students in the UK, however, have dramatically increased through the years due to the existence of agencies that facilitate students that cost as much as P300,000.

“Unfortunately, the Arroyo administration is not doing anything about the Filipino students being victimized by these agencies, saying they are not overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and therefore do not go through processing at the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency,” Martinez said.

He said there are around 200,000 Filipinos in the UK, mostly working in the medical and household service sectors. Of this figure, he said at least 10,000 are undocumented.

“Migrante is calling on President Arroyo to directly address the plight of the Filipinos in the UK during her visit, instead of her alleged plan to invite investors and market OFWs as cheap labor,” Martinez said.

“We urge Arroyo to take up the issue of the unjust and cruel crackdown on undocumented workers in the United Kingdom. Almost all of them are now living like rats because of the UK government’s brutal immigration rules. Arroyo should work for the regularization of undocumented Filipinos in the UK,” he added.

Arroyo will be in London from Sept. 17 to 18, as she has been invited to deliver the keynote address in The Emerging Markets Summit hosted by British news magazine The Economist.

During the conference, she will highlight the “resiliency and continued growth” of the Philippine economy.

At the sidelines of the meeting, she will also meet key business leaders to entice them to further increase trade and investments in the Philippines. –Daily Tribune