Britain Urges Tougher Immigration Laws [View all]
Source: NYT
The British authorities on Wednesday announced plans to toughen immigration laws as the government tried to regain the initiative after spectacular electoral gains last week by a populist party that wants to curb migration and leave the European Union.
The proposed changes would make it easier to deport foreigners who commit serious crimes, increase fines on companies that use illegal labor and force private landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants. Temporary migrants would also be forced to pay for some health care.
The measures were announced at the start a new parliamentary session in a speech written by the government but delivered, as British constitutional protocol requires, by Queen Elizabeth II. The address is known as the Queen’s Speech and is conducted with much ceremonial pageantry.
The speech came days after the populist United Kingdom Independence Party won about a quarter of the vote in local elections last week across different parts of the country, sending shock waves through the mainstream political parties.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/world/europe/britain-urges-tougher-immigration-laws.html
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