In a week when London’s temperature soared to 32 degrees, Home Secretary Alan Johnson ordered the UK Border Agency to review its rollout of compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals, with a view to accelerating the process. But at the same he appears to be making a ‘U turn’ on mandatory ID cards for British Citizens.

The agency has already issued 50,000 ID cards for foreign nationals legally living and working in the United Kingdom, and expects that all within three years foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) will need to have an ID card if they are coming to the UK for longer than six months or extending their stay. Full Story.

Italy adopts new law criminalising illegal immigration

Italy takes a hard line on immigration in a move that harps back to its fascist era under Mussolini. Last week Italy’s Parliament approved a law criminalising illegal immigration and allowing citizens’ patrols to help the police keep order

Deportation reprieve for skippers and Filipino Fishermen

Deportation reprieve for Filipino Fishermen, but the loophole which allows non EU workers to be employed “off-shore” can lead to exploitation. We have met a number of Filipino workers employed by UK companies on vessels off-shore without a Work Permit. Several were forced to jump ship because of extremely low pay and poor working conditions.

London’s first Swine Flu death but no need to panic

The BBC reports that a 19-year-old man has died after contracting swine flu in London, the fourth fatal case in the UK. However, to put this into perspective, the UK has a population of over 60 million, with 7.5 million people living in London alone.

Scotland wants own immigration system

The new Australian-style “points system”, which has been recently brought in by Home Office, requires new immigrants to amass enough points, based on factors such as a employment, skills shortages and community links to gain entry to the United Kingdom. Last week the Government published the latest approved Shortage Occupations List for Tier 2 of the points based system, which includes Care Assistants.

Visa requirement for South Africans starts today

The announcement is clearly designed to reassure the public that the Labour Government is taking steps to secure and strengthen Britain’s borders.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The Italian Parliament last week approved a law criminalising illegal immigration and allowing citizens’ patrols to help the police keep order, the BBC reports.

The measures have been strongly criticised by human rights groups and the Vatican.

Illegal immigration will be punishable by a heavy fine and anyone caught knowingly housing illegal migrants will face up to three years in prison.

The law, passed in the Senate (upper house) on Thursday, also extends detention periods for illegal migrants to six months.

The unarmed citizens’ patrols are among the most controversial and worrying measures.

A right-wing uniformed group called the Italian National Guard was set up last month, likened by some to Benito Mussolini’s Fascists. It vowed to start patrolling the streets.

But Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the group, which sports beige uniforms and black military-style hats, would not be allowed to mount street patrols.

Mr Maroni, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, has steered the legislation through parliament.

The party is a key ally of Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and made tougher measures against immigration a condition of its support for his re-election last year.

The new law makes illegal immigration punishable by a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 Euros (£4,276 – £8,553).

It also requires parents registering a birth to present documents proving that they are legal residents.

Italy has just introduced a policy of returning boatloads of migrants to Libya before they can claim asylum.

The government says it faces an unmanageable flood of immigrants, many arriving on outlying islands which do not have the means to cope.

More than 36,000 migrants landed on the shores of Italy last year – an increase of about 75% on the year before.

Critics say the government is targeting especially immigrants and Roma (Gypsies).

The Vatican said the new law was “focusing on crime and leaving integration completely out of the picture”.

Comment

The UK has recently introduce togh crackdowns on illegal immigrant and those who employ undocumented workers. Empoyer can now face a £10000 civil penalty for each illegal worker. See Employers face £10000 fine for each illegal worker  

Whilst Italy’s new has no immediate bearing on UK immigration policy, the move is part of a growing right wing resurgence throught Europe.

In the May European elections, the BNP won its first seat in the European Parliament. Source BBC

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

As Labour’s share of the overall vote slumped to an all time low, leaving them in third place behind UKIP (Untied Kingdom Independence Party), smaller parties like the Greens, UKIP and BNP were the beneficiaries. 

BNP leader, Nick Griffin was elected for the North West region while Andrew Brons picked up another BNP seat in Yorkshire and Humber, where it won 10% of the vote. 

Mr Griffin told the BBC that the BNP was not racist and had no problem with immigrants here legally and “contributing”, but gained votes from other parties because it “spoke openly about the problem of immigration.” 

Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman described the BNP result as “terrible”. 

Mr Griffin was elected to the European Parliament even though the BNP polled fewer votes in the region than it had in 2004 – but the slump in Labour support meant its share of the vote increased. 

Under the ‘proportional representation’ system used in the European elections, this meant that although the BNP came fifth in the vote in the region the party won a seat. 

Mr Griffin told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: 

“There’s a huge amount of racism in this country, overwhelmingly it is directed towards the indigenous British majority, which is one reason we’ve done so well in these elections.” 

He said “the indigenous majority [were] the second-class citizens in every possible sphere, not as a consequence of the immigrants themselves, but because our ruling elite has made them second-class citizens.” 

“The Labour Party, the Lib Dems and the Tories, by leaving the door to Britain open, has forced people to turn to a party which speaks openly about the problem of immigration and says that while there might be a few good things about it there’s also a lot of bad things.” 

The BNP won more than 120,139 votes in the Yorkshire region, slightly less than in 2004, but enough to take one of the six seats on offer in the region. 

The BNP targeted the North West during the campaign, having had earlier success in local council elections where the party won one of its three English county council seats in Burnley in Thursday’s elections.

The Conservatives were the main winners on the night taking a 27% share of the vote an 25 MEP seats (up 1). 

UKIP gained one seat and 16.5% of the vote beating Labour into third place with only 15.7% of the national vote. 

Despite the expenses scandal and expected backlash against the main parties, independent candidates and smaller parties did not gain any seats and in the main had disappointing results. 

Of the migrant candidates fighting seats in London, only Sri Lankan Tamil candidate, Jan Jananayagam, came close to gaining a seat, with just over 50,000 votes – more than the heavily backed Jury team and almost as many as the Christian Party-Christian Peoples Alliance. 

Gene Alcantara, the Filipino British Independent got just under 2000 votes, but was disappointed that more people from his own 250,000 strong Filipino community did not turn out to support him. 

Other independent candidates targeting migrant communities, such as Haroon Saad and Sohale Rahman, also suffered from voter apathy.

For full results see the BBC website.

Immigration Matters Comment

Whilst the BNP have no realistic chance of gaining power in the UK, the results do indicate that the British people are concerned about immigration, as well as the growth of European legislation and the Lisbon Treaty.

UKIP, standing on similar anti Europe and immigration policies pulled in 2.5 million votes.

Gordon Brown looks all but finished after these disastrous results. Tonight, the battered Prime Minister addressed his party in Parliament and early signs are that he has managed to hang on and rally MP’s support.

Labour have traditionally favoured a positive immigration policy and have recently introduced a points based system for migration.

David Cameron’s Conservative Party look certain to win the next general election, which could see a cap imposed on immigration and a general hardening of immigration policy.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders, the maverick Dutch MP who was banned from entering Britain this year for his beliefs, won four seats in the European Parliament at the first time of asking, having been formed in 2006.

The result, which placed the party second in the Netherlands, behind only the ruling Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), suggested that anti-immigrant parties would attract disaffected voters in a number of countries in the European polls. They are expected to gain seats in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

With most of the votes counted, Mr Wilders’s party took 17 per cent of the vote, second to the CDA of Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister, which took 19.9 per cent, losing two of its seven MEPs.

Labour, which is in a coalition Government with the CDA, was the biggest loser, receiving only 12.1 per cent, compared with 23.6 per cent in 2004, and losing four of its seven seats. The result confirmed forecasts that the Right was set to claim victory in the elections, with results from the remaining 26 EU countries being declared tomorrow night after polls have closed.

Wouter Bos, the Labour leader, said: “The parties that lost the most were those who supported Europe . . . who defended Europe against a lot of scepticism. It appears that the voters found that unconvincing.”

Mr Wilders, who will not be among his party’s MEPs, lives under police protection after numerous death threats for his outspoken calls for closing mosques and blocking immigration to Europe’s most populous country per square mile. He has likened the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

The party’s message found resonance in a reaction against the tolerance towards immigrants for which the Netherlands has become known. Mr Wilders, 45, made a controversial film last year that portrayed images of extremist violence against a backdrop of the Koran.

“Turkey as [an] Islamic country should never be in the EU, not in ten years, not in a million years,” he said while campaigning on the slogan “More Netherlands, less Europe”. Explaining his rise in popularity over the past four years, he added: “My supporters say, ‘At last there is someone who dares to say what millions of people think’. That is what I do.”

Under a banning order signed by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary at the time, Mr Wilders was stopped at Heathrow from entering Britain in February to attend a screening of his film at the House of Lords.

“We want to fight for the right to decide who can immigrate to the Netherlands and that Brussels is not the decision-making body,” said Mr Wilders after his party’s success, in a reference to plans for an EU Blue Card similar to the US Green Card, which Britain has used its opt-out to avoid.

“Many people clearly yearn for a different Netherlands and have had enough of this big Europe.”

His demand for the Dutch Government to stand down and call early elections was ignored by Mr Balkenende.

In a sign that Green parties will also pick up votes across the EU, the environmental Groenlinks party gained 8.8 per cent of votes in the Netherlands and three seats, up from 7.4 per cent and two seats, while the far-left Socialist Party remained at 7.1 per cent and two seats.

Mohammed Jabir, a political commentator on Muslim affairs, said: “The middle parties are losing ground. Basically it is Left against Right at this point. As long as the economic crisis continues, people will seek reasons for losing their jobs and their homes.”

Source: The Times

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The candidates – Gene Alcantara, Haroon Saad, Jan Janananayagam, Steven Cheung and Sohale Rahman – held a press conference this week, but have been ignored by the media. 

We live in a wealthy country and fair society where most things are laid out and made easy for us. Unfortunately, a lot of our current politicians are ‘out of touch’ that they have complicated simple interpretations of the law and do not seem to have the ability to understand the essence of diverse society London is about.  

Gene says’ “Immigrants are being blamed for all the ills of the society when we actually now have a bigger pool of immigrants whose skills and talents we should access and encourage them to be involved for the good of the country”. 

I will specifically share my feelings for Gene Alcantara. He is an educated, honest, likeable, hardworking and caring individual, who will make an ideal modern politician. He is always prepared to roll up his sleeves and listen to the people. Gene is patriotic as he tirelessly promotes the Philippines where he originally comes from as well as being a proud British citizen who worked for two decades promoting Britain abroad through the British Council. He speaks several languages and has visited 60 countries which makes him even more equipped to deal with the diversity of London. 

Talking about capability, Gene was Head of Accounts Payable for a number of years in the British Council and was the guardian of credit cards and payments worth hundreds of millions of pounds.  

The one other thing I am so proud of Gene is the fact that he never loses sight of the human factor when dealing with political issues. 

In the last month, I have followed Gene’s campaign and seen how Gene went out and talked to different communities. He attended community events, rallies, sports events, festivals, and could see that he is comfortable with talking to people and getting them inspired. He is a picture of a true leader who can organise and lead communities. 

Highlight of Campaign Events 

On 2nd May, Gene talked to Londoners in the street and visited the Tamil rally in London’s Parliament Square. 

On 3rd May, Gene met revellers at FM Pasyalan Club in Shepherds Bush and then joined boxing fans at the Walkabout Australian Bar to take in the Hatton v Pacquiao fight. 

On 4th May – Gene joined the Strangers into Citizens Rally in Trafalgar Square and talked to people from different communities including Filipinos, Chinese, Indians and Africans as well as different religious leaders. 

On 10th May – In the morning, Gene talked to the churchgoers at Westminster Cathedral. In the evening, Gene attended a Filipino community show in Harrow organised by West End starts including Monique Wilson and Junix Inocian. 

On 12th May, Gene went to the Philippine Embassy to pay his respect and introduce his campaign team. 

On 16th May, Gene attends “Flores De Mayo”, Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair.

On 17th May, Gene attended Kampi Basketball matches in Canning Town, visited Oriental Store in Plaistow, Tawana Shop and Filipino restaurant in Walthamstow. 

Gene visited different churches including Westminster Cathedral, Iglesia ni Kristo and Born Again followers. 

In between the above events, Gene gathered up dozens of volunteers doing street leafleting and mailshots. 

Fundraising event with Madonna Decena 

On 18th May, Gene organised his fundraising campaign at FM Pasyalan which was successful considering the credit crunch and the fact that it was a Monday night. He had supporters from different communities including Filipinos, British, Polish, Danish, Norwegian and Panamanian. 

Stars supported him including Madonna Decena, Britain’s Got Talent star, Policeman, young and old, students, teenagers, business people and government officials.

This particular event shows Gene’s pulling power and how he can unite different communities and inspire them. 

On 21 and 22 May, hundreds of students volunteered to help Gene prepare labels and envelopes for his election campaign. 

On 23 May, Gene went to a number of events from a house barbecue party in South Croydon to the Grand Canao festival in Walthamstow attended by 500 people. In the evening, he was invited to meet the 300 guests at Batangas Association charity dinner.   

On 24 May, Gene went to meet Sacred Heart of Jesus churchgoers in Kilburn. 

On 25 May (bank holiday), volunteers turned up at Umi Hotel in London to help Gene prepare election communication. In the late afternoon he proceeded to Kusinang Munti in Tooting who proudly hang up his campaign banner. Nayong Pilipino in Tooting also put his posters up.  The Manalo family in Mitcham took his campaign materials to the bus drivers and nurses in London. 

On 31^st May, he was invited to introduce himself to the meeting organised by over 1000 South Americans in Elephant and Castle.  Yet again, he showed he could converse in their language as well as understand their issues.

In the afternoon, I went with Gene and Pi (his wife) to Chinatown to talk to the Chinese community. 

On 2^nd June, Gene went to Ealing to distribute more campaign leaflets to the Polish community. He even took the time to get his manifesto translated in Polish, Spanish and Chinese. 

To further support Gene’s campaign for tomorrow’s election, I ask the communities in London to:

• Unite
• Exercise the right to vote
• Vote for the right candidate
• Vote for Gene Alcantara
• Let Gene Alcantara be your voice in Europe

The BBC reports that the Communities Secretary and Minister of the State, Hazel Blears has sensationally resigned from Gordon Brown’s cabinet, increasing pressure on UK Prime Minister to step down. 

Her departure is the second top-level resignation on the eve of the European and English local elections. 

It led to stormy Commons scenes as Mr Brown denied his government was in “meltdown” and rejected calls for an immediate general election. 

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has been forced to issue a denial that he is ready to take over amid reports of a backbench plot - in political speak terms a sure sign that he about to do just that. 

Mr Johnson told the BBC: 

“He is doing the job and there is absolutely no one who could do that job better.” 

The BBC reports that is has seen a proposed letter from one Labour MP calling on Mr Brown to step down.

Never one to shy away from ‘kicking a man when he’s down’, Tory leader David Cameron said the Prime Minister was “in denial” and the communities secretary resigning on the eve of local government elections was a “direct challenge to his authority”. 

He said Mr Brown’s team was now “deserting him”, the government was “collapsing” and he urged the prime minister to “get down to the Palace, ask for a dissolution, call an election”. 

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg joined the growing calls for a general election: 

“It’s a tragedy that exactly at the time when people need help, need action, the country doesn’t have a government, it has a void. Labour is finished.” 

Ms Blears has been under fire over her expenses claims despite repaying £13,000 to the Inland Revenue, following allegations she avoided paying capital gains tax on a property sale. 

The Salford MP denied doing anything wrong but although Mr Brown described her claims as “totally unacceptable”, he did not take any further action against Ms Blears. 

Last month she launched what was seen as a thinly-veiled attack on Mr Brown in a newspaper article, criticising the government’s “lamentable” failure to get its message across. 

In an apparent jibe at the PM’s much-mocked appearance on You Tube, she said: 

“YouTube if you want to. But it’s no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre.” 

She was tipped for the axe in the forthcoming reshuffle, but has stolen the initiative from Mr Brown. 

Home Secretary (Home Office) Jacqui Smith, who also faced expenses criticism and went public on Tuesday with her decision to stand down, said she backed Mr Brown and denied Ms Blears was deliberately trying to undermine him. 

BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson described the move as: 

“Deliberate, calculated and with intent. That is the only possible interpretation of Hazel Blears’ decision to resign today.” 

The European and Local elections take place in a few hours and Ms Blears timing can only be seen as a direct and planned attack on Gordon Brown’s leadership. 

Labour is running at their lowest popularity level in the polls since polls began, and are expecting nothing short of a disastrous result in tomorrow’s election. 

Meanwhile the smaller parties and independent MEP candidates are being overlooked by the media in a European Parliamentary election which has been overshadowed by the MP’s expenses scandal.

Five London independent MEP candidates, all from ethnic minority backgrounds, were ignored by the mainstream press and the BBC this week at their ‘no press’ press conference.  

Gene Alcantara, Haroon Saad, Sohale Rahman, Steven Cheung and Jan Jananayagam hope to buck the trend against independents as voters desert the main parties.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Part two of the Independent Candidates ‘No Press’ Press Conference.

Five independent MEP candidates for London were ignored by the mainstream press and the BBC yesterday at their ‘no press’ press conference. 

The conference in Kings Cross St Pancras, London’s Eurostar gateway to Europe, was designed to draw attention to the fact that the mainstream media have completely ignored independent candidates in the European elections. The media’s lack of response demonstrates their point.  

Gene Alcantara, Haroon Saad, Sohale Rahman and Jan Jananayagam discuss their ideas and main policies on Europe. 

The lack of airtime and press coverage confirms that, despite the public anger against the main party politicians, independents and small parties have virtually no chance of breaking their stranglehold on power. 

All the candidates urge people not to waste their vote in the European elections this Thursday 4 June. 

For further details on all five candidates visit:

http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Five independent MEP candidates for London were ignored by the mainstream press and the BBC yesterday at their ‘no press’ press conference.

The conference in Kings Cross St Pancras, London’s Eurostar gateway to Europe, was designed to draw attention to the fact that the mainstream media have completely ignored independent candidates in the European elections.

The media’s response demomstrates their point. 

Gene Alcantara, Haroon Saad, Sohale Rahman and Jan Jananayagam discuss their ideas and main issues on Europe, immigration and London.

The lack of airtime and press coverage confirms that, despite the public anger against the main party politicians, independents and small parties have virtually no chance of breaking their stranglehold on power.

All the candidates urge people to use their vote in the European elections this Thursday 4 June.

For further details on all five candidates visit:

www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

www.genealcantara.com

Filipino British Candidate for European Parliament, Gene Alcantara, speaks at FM Pasyalan in Shepherds Bush.

Gene is the London MEP Independent candidate in the European Parliamentary elections on 4 June.

He believes politicians are not listening to the public and he wants to be your “voice” in the European Parliament.

www.genealcantara.com

www.immigrationmatters.co.uk