The Law Society has poured cold water on the government’s much-trailed announcement of a ‘professional enablers taskforce’ to tackle abuses in the immigration system.
According to press reports this morning, the taskforce will be dedicated to identifying suspicious activity among asylum claims, gathering evidence with the help of industry watchdogs and handing it over to the Crown Prosecution Service. Ministers will warn professionals who help migrants to fabricate fraudulent asylum claims that they face life in prison
In a statement ahead of the announcement, Law Society vice president Richard Atkinson said: ‘This “taskforce” has been around for months now, so it is not clear what, if anything, the government is announcing today. The government and regulators should share intelligence about immigration advisers of all kinds if they have concerns. And, of course, action should be taken immediately if there is evidence of wrong-doing.
’The government, regulators and law enforcement agencies already have the powers they need to deal with immigration advisers engaged in misconduct.’
Atkinson added: ’The overwhelming majority of immigration lawyers continue to support the rule of law through their adherence to the law and professional standards set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and provide an essential service to clients. The focus of the Home Office on a tiny minority of lawyers to which they are apparently applying considerable resources should not deflect from the fact that there remains significant backlogs in asylum claims or the unworkability of the Illegal Migration Act.’
