Coming to Britain: The Discretion Factor

By Edwin Goodwin

The subject of immigration in Britain has become a dark minefield especially for asylum-seekers and irregular migrants. This is as a result of arbitrary changes in legislation and probably the politics of Brexit. Unsettled migrants, it seems, are completely at the mercy of the Home Office decision-makers - because the Home Office simply change the immigration rules when it does not like the answers the courts are giving.

The current bureaucracy is hostile, cynical and hardened to every sob story under the sun. Arbitrary policies tear apart families and ruin lives. The treadmill of unfair bureaucratic decisions is a direct result of a relentless drive towards unrealistic migration caps that don't take real lives into account. Indeed, there are ever so many ways in which these faceless bureaucrats ride roughshod over the rights and legitimate expectation of migrants.

It is hoped that this essay will do something to lessen the heavily tilted playing field on which migrants and their representatives must contend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Feb 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781456630362

Book preview

Correspondence

About the Author

Edwin Goodwin migrated to the UK from Nigeria as a student and to join his family in October of 2005. He studied Applied Biomedical Science (2005-2008) at the University of Wolverhampton (UK), graduating with a 2.1 Honours degree. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Biomedical Science (PGCert) which was awarded to him in 2010 by the same university.

Whilst at university (in 2008), he was awarded the Dean’s Prize, having been selected as the winner of the Final Year Experience Writing Competition. Shortly after his undergraduate studies, he joined the National Health Service (NHS) in England as a qualified biomedical scientist (2009-2012). During his NHS employment (in 2010), he was awarded a Certificate of Academic Development in Medical Microbiology and Clinical Bacteriology by Liverpool John Moores University.

In March 2017 Edwin published a book entitled Appraisal Science: Appraising Healthcare Professionals in which he delivers a critical, thorough overview of the UK’s appraisal system for healthcare professionals.

In July 2017, he was appointed as Mentoring Programme Manager for a community club known as Speakers of Croydon – part of Toastmasters International, a global organisation devoted to communication and leadership skills development.

Edwin lives in London (UK) and currently works in the field of Facilities Management. In September 2017 he was formally recognised by his employer as a Health & Safety Champion. He invests his time in creative writing, strategic personal development, and mentoring young people. He was awarded a Certificate in Volunteering by the Mayor of London in March 2015. The certificate reads: "An award for volunteering with the Mayor’s Mentoring Programme & making a difference to the lives of young Londoners."

Foreword

The author (Edwin Goodwin) presents to us a comprehensive thesis which explores a hostile brand of bureaucracy. But one would have thought that hostility and bureaucracy are inextricably linked, aren’t they?

In recent times, we have heard how people with every right to live and work in Britain have been left terrified by Home Office communications threatening them with deportation. Far from being a new string of errors, this ineptitude, lack of proper judgement, and general aversion to compassion may as well be official Home Office policy. The government’s obsession with immigration targets mires everything it does, and apparently everyone is fair game.

The immigration system is at present based on a reactionary agenda, not reason, and certainly not the best interests of Britain’s economy. Against all advice, the UK government led by Theresa May continues to insist on maintaining a net migration target of under 100,000, which has never once been met.

Indeed, the Prime Minister has worked steadily towards creating the "hostile environment" she envisaged as Home Secretary. Her government presides over a detention system that can effectively hold detainees indefinitely, and has been found to do so without sufficient cause – they enforce inhumane mass deportations that do not assess asylum claims in a fair and timely manner; and of course have falsely accused international students of overstaying in large numbers. The failures are endless. It is no surprise that the ombudsman upholds more complaints against the Home Office than any other Government department.

According to a recent Parliamentary Ombudsman Report, poor decision-making was a major issue, cited in more than one in four upheld complaints about the Home Office and its immigration departments. The number of upheld complaints is more than double the average for public sector organisations.

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott wrote:

"The immigration system has been described as broken, supposedly for not being tough enough. But the truth is it lacks sense, and above all it lacks humanity – a requisite component when dealing with human beings. These error letters, and the Tories’ approach behind enforcing immigration policy as a whole, exposes a much more inherent flaw: the callousness that comes from being guided by deportation and detention, as measures of a successful immigration system. This system is unworkable, and the Home Office needs to clean up its act".

The author focuses primarily on ‘end of the line’ immigration control within the United Kingdom - that is, migrants who face what is termed as administrative removal or deportation.

On a broader note, this essay may bring more service user insight into the thinking of bureaucrats, policymakers and researchers.

Happy reading!

Enakeme Goodwin BSc (Hons)

Policy Adviser

Speakership Development Forum

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the UK Immigration Enforcement team for providing insight into how they operate albeit during what was a challenging time for me.

My mother (Princess Margaret) continues to earn my deepest gratitude for her relentless assistance and encouragement with all my writing. Whether through material or emotional support, feedback or ideas, she is nothing less than a blessed benefactor. My brothers (Irikefe, Steve and Enakeme) gave me their full support and good advice on needed additions to the book.

Finally, to all my friends who supported this project and helped to make every page possible.

Thank you all for your generosity.

Introduction

"How do you react when bureaucracy does not perform up to your expectations? Probably you criticise and condemn it. It does not occur to you that you have made little effort to understand how it works, and that your criticism of