Government to target employers of illegal migrants

The immigration minister James Brokenshire has promised a “new approach” to businesses which employ illegal migrants.

No new measures are being enacted but Brokenshire said the government would now crack down on employers.

The minister said: “Our new approach will be to use the full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal migrants.”

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According to The Times, workers in care homes, on building sites and at cleaning firms will be the particular focus of raids by immigration officers this autumn.

The BBC says the minister’s comments come in the wake of controversial remarks by foreign secretary Philip Hammond in which he complained about millions of “marauding” migrants from Africa threatening Europe’s “standard of living”.

Hammond’s words were condemned as “shameful” by Amnesty International and he was accused of “scaremongering” and using “dehumanising” language by Labour, The Guardian reports.

The foreign secretary was speaking as he visited Singapore yesterday. He told the BBC: “The gap in standards of living between Europe and Africa means there will always be millions of Africans with the economic motivation to try to get to Europe.

“So long as there are large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around the area, there always will be a threat to the tunnel security. We’ve got to resolve this problem ultimately by being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back to their countries of origin."

He added that "Europe can’t protect itself, preserve its standard of living and social infrastructure if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa".

Last week it was announced landlords will now face jail if they do not evict tenants who are not entitled to be in the UK.