I lied

I know I said I wouldn't write any more about immigration for a while, but guess what - I lied apparently...

Check out this amazing article from The Times this week. In case you haven't got time to read it, it details the adventures of a journalist who posed as a failed asylum seeker, living illegally in Britain, wanting to return to India. He went to the IOM (international Organisation for Migration) and told them he had been an illegal immigrant in Britain for more than 10 years, and that he wanted to return to India to set up a travel agency business. They agreed to give him a package worth around £4,000. Including cash, air fares, a car, accommodation, office equipment, and more.

This is a criminal, albeit a fictional one, and they offered to give him money to leave a country that he's not even allowed to be in.

THEY OFFERED HIM MONEY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY!

THIS MONTH I'VE HAD TO PAY THE FUCKING HOME OFFICE ALMOST £1,000 JUST TO ASK THEIR PERMISSION FOR MY WIFE TO STAY WITH ME IN MY OWN COUNTRY. SHE'S NEVER HAD SO MUCH AS A SPEEDING TICKET IN HER LIFE. I'VE PAID TAX HERE FOR 25 YEARS. I HAVE FAMILY HERE. SHE HAS A SON HERE. AND THEY COULD STILL TURN HER DOWN WITHOUT RETURNING OUR MONEY!

You want to know what the really funny thing is? The journalist who wrote the story above asked the IOM if he could come back to Britain if he didn't like India, AND THEY SAID YES. They offered to pay an illegal immigrant for a £4,000 holiday to Goa, and then let him come back to Britain legally.

Can you imagine how heartbreaking that is to read for someone who just wants to keep his family together?