London: Illegal immigration is tearing Britain apart and tougher measures such as an extended waiting period of 20 years for refugees to acquire permanent residency are required to unite the country, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Sunday.
During a round of media interviews ahead of a planned statement in the House of Commons on Monday, the South Asian heritage Cabinet minister described the issues as a “moral mission” for her to fix the country’s broken asylum system.
It confirmed earlier reports of the UK Home Office’s plans to model the latest immigration crackdowns on a tough system followed by Denmark.
“I can see — and I know my colleagues can — that illegal migration is tearing our country apart. It’s our job as a Labour government to unite our country and if we don’t sort this out, I think our country becomes much more divided,” Mahmood told ‘The Sunday Times’.
Asked by ‘Sky News’ if some of her crackdowns may be perceived as racist, she responded: “I reject that entirely. I am the child of immigrants. My parents came to this country legally, in the late 60s and early 70s. This is a moral mission for me.
“I can see that illegal migration is creating division across our country. I can see that it is polarising communities across the country. I can see that it is dividing people and making them estranged from one another. I don’t want to stand back and watch that happen in my country.
“What is happening with our illegal migration system is this is a broken system. It’s not right-wing talking points or fake news or misinformation that is suggesting that we’ve got a problem. It is a broken system.”