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A selection of recent media reports

UKBA officials 'planned to worsen health of mentally ill asylum seeker'
High court hears Border Agency staff hoped to put pressure on Iraqi man with paranoid schi
Guardian.co.uk (05-Jul-2012)

Government responds to 'no strategy' claims in missing migrants row
The Government today insisted it had clear strategy to identify and remove people who fail t
The Independent (05-Jul-2012)

Employers' shock as illegal immigrant found working at their seafood firm
THE UK Border Agency is holding a 47-year-old illegal immigrant found working at the
This is Devon (05-Jul-2012)

UK Border Agency failing to deal with 150,000 illegal migrants, says watchdog
At least 150,000 migrants refused leave to remain in Britain could be living in th
Telegraph.co.uk (05-Jul-2012)

Immigration backlog: New warning from watchdog
The UK Border Agency has no "clear strategy" for dealing with a group of more than 150,000 foreign nationals sta
BBC News UK (05-Jul-2012)

Briefing Paper

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Immigration Mythology
4 July, 2012

1. Introduction

This paper outlines the many myths that are put forward by the mass immigration lobby in support of the current levels of immigration and dispels each myth in turn.

2. ‘Immigration provides great economic benefit’

For many years the government claimed that immigration added £6 billion a year to GDP. However, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, reporting in April 2008, said that what mattered was GDP per head. They concluded that:

“We have found no evidence for the argument, made by the government, business and many others, that net immigration generates significant economic benefits for the existing UK population”.

In January 2012 the Migration Advisory Committee went further. They said that even GDP per head exaggerated the benefit of immigration because:

“It is the immigrants themselves rather than the extant residents who are the main gainers”.

They suggested that the GDP of residents should be the main focus.

They recognised that the resident population would gain via any “dynamic effects” of skilled immigration on productivity and innovation – these “exist and may be large, but they are elusive to measure”.

To see the 14 Myths and Rebutals go to Briefing Paper 12.4