Home secretary Theresa May today announced that there is to be a temporary cap on the number of non-EU migrants entering the UK. These restrictions will allow 24,100 workers from outside Europe to enter Britain before April 2011.
Habib Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “Theresa May’s temporary cap will damage the economy at a critical time.
“We can scarcely afford to knock back the investment and the specialist skills that our current immigration system allows. It would be economic suicide to restrict the numbers of international students who currently pay between £5.3 billion and £8 billion in fees and costs.
“The cap is unnecessary. Numbers are already falling due to the recession. Labour banned so called low skilled migrants from non-EU countries coming to find work and put in place measures to protect the resident labour force.”
He added: “The question now is whether the Conservatives will really turn round to companies like KPMG and say ‘we’ve reached 24,100 people, your expert on economics from China cannot work from your London office’. This would be absurd.”
JCWI has launched the I Love Migrants Campaign which includes 10 key facts showing why migration has been good for Britain. The campaign shows how migration has benefitted Britain economically, socially and culturally.
July 1st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT WITH THIS NEW POLICY UK IS HEADING TO DEPRESSION SINCE THEY UNDERMIND THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SOME JOBS WHICH CAN ONLY BE DONE BY MIGRANT WORKERS.
October 1st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
[…] Habib Rahman’s comments on the interim limit can be found here. […]
January 20th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Dear JCWI
I am a Senior Carer from Hampshire who had been badly affected by this capping and I had been suspended from work since my visa expires while my employer still awaits for the response from the Home Office for their application of CoS, which they had been trying to get since November 2010. They had been denied many times. This capping is really unlawful and bringing dramatic and tremendous horrific effect for both the workers and employer.