No One is Illegal: Asylum and Immigration Control Past and Present

Front Cover
Trentham, 2003 - Business & Economics - 270 pages
"No One Is Illegal" is an important collection, written for professionals who work in the fields of welfare and education and who increasingly require knowledge of British immigration law and politics. Steve Cohen shows how restrictions are historically and inevitably a product of racism and argues that there can not be "fair" controls. The book will thus also interest a political and general readership.Immigration controls and the issue of asylum dominate the media. The link between immigration status and entitlement to welfare and social provision means that immigration and asylum law directly impinges on major areas of life. The book begins by delineating the main issues. The new Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act is explained - including material on how education entitlement is now to be linked to immigration status. Part One of the book provides a political background to immigration controls and shows why there cannot be non-racist controls. Part Two provides the historical background and demonstrates how controls in Britain have always been used against refugees starting with the 1905 Aliens Act. Part Three examines internal welfare controls. Part Four looks at the international aspects of controls and how a global fortress in being erected against migrants, immigrants and refugees. Part Five gives examples of resistance to immigration controls. Part Six provides a conclusion and looks critically at the arguments for "fair" controls and for no immigration controls.