A debate over an amnesty or regularisation for so-called “illegal immigrants” has restarted with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, pushing hard for the idea (in the BBC’s Panorama programme on 9 March for instance).
Fortunately Johnson’s arguments for amnesty (which are not in line with Tory policy) may help the labour movement get clarity on this issue, as they expose what “amnesty” can mean in practice. Johnson wants amnesty to complement the drive against “illegal immigrants” (on which there is cross-party agreement).
The current immigration crackdown was begun long before the economic crisis began, but it now assumes a heightened political importance. The crackdown has three broad fronts:
• policing workplaces where migrant workers without papers might be employed;
• policing services which migrant workers and asylum seekers might try to access;
• picking up and deporting “failed asylum seekers”, that is refugees who have failed to comply with the arbitrary and inconsistently applied criteria for asylum.
Johnson believes that, with an estimated 750,000 “illegal” economic migrants and “failed” asylum seekers in Britain, the success of the crackdown — crucially the ability (financially and politically) of the government to deport so many people — has limits. Better, stresses Johnson, to let “illegal immigrants” stay. Of course he doesn’t want people who are unable to work or lack work skills useful to capitalism to stay.
But the government and its immigration minister Phil Woolas reject the idea of amnesty, thinking it will encourage more economic migrants. It’s also not in line with the increasingly reactionary tone of government. Phil Woolas manages to combine “stop them coming over here taking our jobs” with “end lazy job-shy benefit scrounging” (backing the Welfare Reform which threatens vulnerable jobless people with benefit cuts). “We need a tougher immigration policy,” says Woolas, “and we need to stop seeing it as a dilemma. It’s not. It’s easy. I’m going to do my best to help the British back to work. The message to them is, if you want less immigration you’re going to have to respond with helping us get everyone working who can.”
We need to see the argument in favour of amnesty in its proper context. For Johnson, who cannot ignore the reality of migrant work in London, it is a matter of making the ruling class crackdown on immigration work more rational and more effective.
We need to confront these arguments and argue for our alternative; a crackdown on immigrants will not solve the economic crisis. Migrant workers have the right to come here, refugees need refuge and should also have the right to work. Equal and full rights for all workers from day one of any job.
• The left wing Latin American Coordination group will be hosting a debate on the issue of amnesty soon. See the Campaign Against Immigration Controls website: http://caic.org.uk
• For jobs, fight the bosses, not other workers: page 6.
No one is illegal
David you wrote "If they were legalised they would suddenly jump to the council waiting lists" & "Illegal migrants can work for less than the minimum wage and this drives wages down"
Have you not listened at our events, read any of our literiture, talked to our members or trid to understand marxism? Yes there is a housing crisis- not because there isnt enough houses to go round. In fact millions of houses & flats stand empty. Thousands of construction workers who could build decent homes for all are on the dole. It is entirely down to the obscene swindle of capitalism and the profits to be made out of peoples desperation for what should be human right for all: a decent home.
Migrant workers are often used by the bosses to drive wages down. But why can the capitalists do this, because the union barons would rather back nationalist dead end slogans like British Jobs for British Workers then organise all workers regardless of origin or legal status. Why do migrant workers find it hard to organise- because if their status is deemed illegal and they stand up to the bosses they will be deported or threatned with deportation. Our comrades on the tube know this only too well.
The workers of the world can only unite on the basis of class solidarity and revolutionary socialism and not just argue over who gets the crumbs from the tables of the bourgoisie.
You really need take a long hard look at the shamefull chauvainst crap you wrote above. This kind of thinking does not belong in a workers movement.