Displaying items by tag: Illegal immigration

President Luis Abinader has introduced measures to address illegal immigration from neighbouring Haiti, where the continuing violence is forcing many to flee. The new policies, described as ‘painful but necessary’, include charging migrants for hospital services and penalising those who rent to undocumented individuals. He is also increasing military presence at the border and speeding up border wall construction. He said that his country’s resources were strained, and spoke of the burden on hospitals, schools, and security. Human rights activists have criticised the measures as discriminatory and accused the government of abusing migrants. Over 180,000 migrants have already been deported, and stricter penalties will be imposed on those who aid illegal crossings. However, this week the nation’s attention is focussed on a tragedy in the capital, Santo Domingo: at least 184 were killed and over 250 injured after a roof collapsed at a nightclub. See

The Passport Office and Action Fraud are raising awareness of the need to report missing passports to prevent documents from being used to commit identity crime and facilitate illegal travel across borders. Almost 50 million people hold a UK passport and 400,000 are lost or stolen annually. Yet despite the risks people wait on average 73 days before making a report. Passports have all the information that fraudsters need to steal an identity and set up accounts in that name. Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, said, ‘When you lose your bank card, the first thing you do is contact your bank and have it cancelled, yet people don’t treat lost or stolen passports with the same urgency’. By reporting missing passports, law enforcement agencies and immigration control officers can keep ahead of criminals attempting to get a UK passport illegally. This also ensures action can be taken against anyone identified as having obtained a passport by fraudulent means.

Thousands of National Health Service (NHS) patients have had their data accessed by the Home Office as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The data are made up of non-clinical information, which includes names, dates of birth and the individual’s last known address. An investigation by the Guardian revealed for the first time the extent and details of Home Office requests for information. Between September and October 20126, 2,224 such requests were made: in 1,659 cases the details were traced, in 516 there was no trace, and in 69 instances requests were turned down. The number of requests has risen threefold since 2014, as the Government has toughened its stance on illegal immigration. Data can be requested about people who have absconded from immigration control, escaped detention, exceeded their time in the UK, sought to obtain leave to remain by deception, or failed to comply with reporting restrictions. It should be noted that NHS Digital retains the right to refuse requests which it deems to be against the public interest.