Common sense is not that common
/Secret Home Office memo orders officials to STOP deporting bogus foreign students
Secondly, where does the word 'bogus' fit in here? The student that this particular 'secret' memo (or 'edict' in Mailspeak) referred to was Chinese, had been studying here perfectly legitimately and had simply made an error on the extension application form. The officers were told, quite rightly, to use their common sense. The real scandal is that they had to be told to do that in the first place!
But on to the meat of the allegation. The Mail should be delighted that immigration officers are being told to concentrate their resources on those illegal immigrants who should be got rid of as quickly as possible rather than students who have technically overstayed because of administrative errors. Which of these groups do you think immigration officials (faced with targets and pressure to perform) would rather concentrate on? Students with passports who came here from confirmed home countries and live at known addresses and are therefore easy pickings or failed asylum seekers and convicted criminals who have gone AWOL, have no papers or passports and who are not forthcoming about their origins?
Immigration officers have been ordered to stop deporting foreign students who overstay their visas. A leaked memo obtained by the Daily Mail suggests they are not regarded as a high enough priority. The secret edict makes a mockery of Government claims to be running a "robust" immigration system.Firstly, what does 'secret' mean in this context. When my wife sends a memo to her staff is it 'secret'? Well, it's not intended for publication in the local rag, that's for sure, but it's no more 'secret' than internal emails at the Daily Mail.
Secondly, where does the word 'bogus' fit in here? The student that this particular 'secret' memo (or 'edict' in Mailspeak) referred to was Chinese, had been studying here perfectly legitimately and had simply made an error on the extension application form. The officers were told, quite rightly, to use their common sense. The real scandal is that they had to be told to do that in the first place!
But on to the meat of the allegation. The Mail should be delighted that immigration officers are being told to concentrate their resources on those illegal immigrants who should be got rid of as quickly as possible rather than students who have technically overstayed because of administrative errors. Which of these groups do you think immigration officials (faced with targets and pressure to perform) would rather concentrate on? Students with passports who came here from confirmed home countries and live at known addresses and are therefore easy pickings or failed asylum seekers and convicted criminals who have gone AWOL, have no papers or passports and who are not forthcoming about their origins?
