The law wasn’t always this way. Changes in 2007, 2012 and 2014 led to those born in the UK being sent to countries they do not know. Before 2006, deportation law was flexible. The Home Secretary had discretion and so only serious criminals were deported.
In April 2006, Charles Clarke, then Home Secretary admitted that the Home Office failed to consider the deportation of 1,000 foreign criminals reaching the end of their sentence. Some had re-offended after release, and the Home Office had lost track of most of them. Even serious criminals who had served long sentences were released into the community without consideration of whether to deport them. Clarke was sacked a month later – but the scandal was not caused by administrative failings, not deportation law.
Despite this fact, then Prime Minister Tony Blair changed the law. In 2007, the UK Borders Act introduced automatic deportation for foreign national criminals sentenced to 12 months or more – unless their human rights would be breached.
Theresa May changed the rules again in 2012 to introduce narrow exceptions, which were put into law in the 2014 Immigration Act. There is now a three-level categorisation of offending with different exceptions for each: for instance, one exception for medium-level offenders applies if they have been lawfully resident most of their life and they are socially or culturally integrated into the UK and there are significant obstacles to them integrating into the return country. In practice, few can meet the combination of tests.
Any person who has committed a crime in the UK is argued by the Home Office not to be integrated into the United Kingdom, whether or not he or she has been brought up here in the UK. Any person who is fit, well and has even a hint of an ability to speak the English language is argued by the Home Office to be able to adapt and therefore integrate into the receiving country.
Campaigners say the law must be changed again to scrap automatic deportation and bring back some flexibility into decision-making.
Scarsdale Solicitors – Manchester, Rochdale and Oldham
For advice on immigration issues, call Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale, Scarsdale Solicitors Oldham and Scarsdale Solicitors Manchester. If you need the help of Rochdale immigration solicitors, Oldham immigration solicitors and Manchester Immigration solicitors, call today on 0161 660 6050.
