Illegal Immigrants - Counting The Cost

Here in the sunny Southwest we are well versed in enabling immigrants from other countries, who choose to settle in thus lovely part of the country, to integrate. However, it is not always without its problems and frustrations.

Almost 15 years ago, with the arrival of the first wave of immigrants into Chard and Ilminster, mainly from Portugal and Poland, I took it upon myself to start up English classes for speakers of other languages. I did this because I firmly believe that there is a place for those who wish to integrate and to contribute towards our society. On the other hand, there remains real fears over the arrival of illegal immigrants.

It was something of a shock to see Ilminster make national headlines yesterday with the discovery that a lorry containing 15 people had been seized at my local petrol station, just up the road from where I live.  

As the County Councillor for Ilminster I am aware of the work that will be going on behind the scenes to provide the assistance and support required to deal with the issue.

One key consideration though, and an observation that will not be welcomed by all, is the cost of the operation, both in terms of police resources and in caring for these wretched people until the situation is resolved. At a time when our resources are stretched to the limit the impact of this incident cannot be underestimated.

Naturally, while enquiries continue there will be much speculation. Whilst I’ve never been a fan of the ‘blame culture’ that has crept into our society, in this case, unless evidence is provided to the contrary, I believe it is the failure of our immigration service to control our borders that is at fault here; and no doubt we in Somerset will be left to pick up the bill.

Fortunately the health of those on board, which included a 15 year old boy, seems not to be of concern, and one can but hope that the powers that be were able to locate Kashmiri and Tigrinya speakers to translate, providing useful evidence and detail as to the background surrounding the discovery.

The news that the German driver has been arrested is to be welcomed. A closer look at the website of the company that owns the lorry, ‘Thermotraffic’, reveals that they ‘offer all industries in both the food and non-food area custom service packages’, perhaps an unfortunate statement in the circumstances.

What is especially worrying is that ‘Thermotraffic’, has been unable to confirm where the vehicle was going or where it had come from; no doubt a holding statement while they arrange for suitable damage limitation.

At the very least they must surely be fined. I would suggest as a minimum a sum equivalent to the costs involved. Perhaps to send a firmer message, put a ban on all of their vehicles from doing business here for a period of time. That will hurt.

In the meantime, with stories hitting our headlines daily of the strife experienced by innocent civilians in many parts of the world, I can only begin to imagine, while I sleep safe in my bed at night, the lengths that people will go to, risking life and limb, often paying huge sums of money to unscrupulous traffickers, to reach the safety of Europe and beyond. It is easy to condemn and pass judgment but, for the time being at least, my heart goes out to them, while we count the cost of this failure to protect our own shores.