Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 9th February 2017

The Government has no plan to grant an amnesty to those here illegally and will seek to remove those who have no legal right to be in the UK.

We continue to tackle all forms of modern slavery.

The Government has no plans to grant an amnesty to those illegally present in the UK. Such an amnesty would risk encouraging further illegal migration and potentially endanger individuals and their families by placing them in the hands of unscrupulous traffickers. It would also place at a disadvantage those migrants who come to the UK legally and who observe their immigration conditions.

By tackling illegal activity and encouraging compliance, the Government is better able to protect the public against exploitative activity within the illicit economy. We are committed to preventing illegal working, which is often exploitative, undercuts compliant businesses and has an adverse impact on British citizens and those who are in the UK lawfully.

The Government is determined to tackle all forms of modern slavery, regardless of the immigration status of the victim. Through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we gave law enforcement bodies the powers they required to pursue perpetrators, as well as enhancing support and protection for victims. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s victim identification and support process. Under this process, all potential victims of modern slavery who receive a positive reasonable grounds decision in the NRM are entitled to 45 days of rest and recovery in the UK, during which time they would not be removed from the country. The NRM is open to all potential victims of modern slavery, regardless of their immigration status.

Hate crime goes against the fundamental values of tolerance and respect for others that underpin our diverse society and the Government is determined to prevent such incidents by challenging beliefs and attitudes and taking tough action when hate crimes occur. We already have the necessary strong legislative framework to include racially and religiously-motivated acts as serious crimes. This is implemented by the police in order to tackle relevant incidents, regardless of the immigration status of the victims. We have also put in place a new Hate Crime Action Plan, which will build our understanding of hate crime and improve support for victims. We will also provide reassurance and support for the public through community projects which work to prevent hate crime.

Home Office