Robert Henderson
Much is being made of the plight of immigrants resident in the UK before the 1971 Immigration Act (commonly referred to as the Windrush generation) who are being required to provide evidence of their long-term residence in Britain to avoid being treated as aliens.
How difficult can it be to collect such evidence ? Consider the many possibilities for doing so:
Educational records from nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools, universities and their ilk, evening classes and vocational training.
Medical records from GPs to hospitals.
Work records, especially those from public employments, substantial companies and not-for-profit agencies such as charities.
Volunteer work.
Benefit records.
Tax records.
Vehicle records such those held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Utility bills such as those for energy, water and the telephone.
Bank and building society accounts.
Mortgages.
Rent records
Loans.
Hire purchase.
Credit card accounts.
Police and CPS records ranging from reports of crimes in which the person is the victim, reports of crime which have led to the person being investigated as a suspect but not convicted of a crime and criminal records acquired by the person.
Reports in the media about the person.
Membership of clubs or other groups which have a formal membership requirement.
If there is any difficulty in getting an organisation the person thinks is holding the data they require, there is a simple process which will force them supply it if it exists. This is known as a subject access request which is made under the Data Protection Act. A lawyer is not needed to do this so the cost is minimal, perhaps £10.
Anyone who has lived in the UK for most or all of the past 50 or 60 years really should not have that much difficulty providing multiple proofs of residence.
If these types of check are not made and the word of the person involved is simply taken as all the proof needed, the regularisation of the status of genuine long-term residents without citizenship would be open to straightforward abuse. Anyone who was of the right age could simply claim that they had been in the UK over the relevant period and gain a permanent right to remain.
Living In A Madhouse 
Comments
My parents (both sadly deceased) were born in Jamaica and were part of the so-called ‘Windrush generation’ that made Britain their new home.
I have no reason whatsoever to doubt they came here illegally but what I do question is the competence of the people that are elected to serve the best interests of this country.
I argue that their long-standing inefficiency in connection with immigration has been exposed and as a consequence, the integrity of hardworking immigrants is being called into question.
The real issue here is the inherent incompetence of the people that have the weighty responsibility of running the country.
If anyone doubts what I say, I urge you to consider the case of the two ‘genuine illegal immigrants’ who attempted to use the Grenfell tower tragedy for their unfair benefit and are now serving sentences in prison.
The fact that they were able to enter the UK illegally and go as far as lying about living in Grenfell tower and were able to live in luxury that legal immigrants could only dream of
says much about the inefficiency of the UK immigration service in the 21st century.
My parents (both sadly deceased) were born in Jamaica and were part of the so-called ‘Windrush generation’ that made Britain their new home.
I have no reason whatsoever to doubt that they came here legally but what I do question is the competence of the people that are elected to serve the best interests of this country.
I argue that their long-standing inefficiency in connection with immigration has been exposed and as a consequence, the integrity of hardworking immigrants is being called into question.
The real issue here is the inherent incompetence of the people that have the weighty responsibility of running the country.
If anyone doubts what I say, I urge you to consider the case of the two ‘genuine illegal immigrants’ who attempted to use the Grenfell tower tragedy for their unfair benefit and are now serving sentences in prison.
The fact that they were able to enter the UK illegally and go as far as lying about living in Grenfell tower and were able to live in luxury that legal immigrants could only dream of
says much about the inefficiency of the UK immigration service in the 21st century.
@shyn43
It’s just as well for your sake that they were ‘incompetent’, or frankly, you would not be here.
I’m not so sure they really were ‘incompetent’ though. It seems to me that they knew exactly what they were doing.