JCWI News

Date: 07 September 2008

STATEMENT

In response to claims by MPs Frank Field and Nicholas Soames that immigration must be capped and that skilled migrant workers must be forced to leave after four years, Habib Rahman, Chief Executive of migrants' rights charity JCWI (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) said:

“These proposals completely ignore the positive contribution migrants make to life in the UK. As well as much-needed skilled workers, many come and do unskilled jobs that need to be done, but for which employers are unable to find home-grown workers.

“And if skilled migrants stay on after four years it's because an employer wants them and because they have put down roots and are paying their taxes, national insurance and council tax. So why shouldn't they benefit from the public services they have helped to pay for? Many of the health professionals in the NHS are from non-EEA countries, and it couldn't work without them. Denying migrants a stake in society isn't a route to social cohesion – it's divisive and wasteful of talent.”