Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price has praised Immigration Enforcement officers after accompanying them on two raids in Grays last week.
The team detained three illegal immigrants and issued penalty notices to employers for employing illegal workers. I was most impressed with the professionalism of these officers. It is a difficult job to do. I am clear that we will only tackle illegal immigration by making it difficult for migrants o find work in the UK. That means punishing those who employ illegal immigrants, often under terms and conditions which are totally unacceptable in modern day Britain.
There are those who think our immigration issues would be solved by getting out of Europe. Quite candidly that would make no difference to tackling the many thousands of people who come through on the backs of lorries. Or the overstayers who come in on a visa and smply disappear. it is these who are propping up a significant illegal economy. We are talking about organised criminal gangs who make money from smuggling them. We are talking about those who live in the shadows, working in the black economy and living in overcrowded conditions.
Some of us are trying to have a mature debate about immigration. To the left I say stop bandying around accusations of racism when anyone tries to discuss this. You diminish racism when you do so and you diminish the scale of the problem. To the right I say stop pretending this is all about Romania and Bulgaria. It is not and by pretending otherwise you are letting some very nasty criminals off the hook.