Lead Stories

BRITAIN HAS stepped up its campaign against illegal immigrants and already two Jamaicans have been nabbed as the UK Border Agency embark on a nationwide prowl.

Damian Green, the country's immigration minister, has said illegal immigrants are a burden to his country. He says his government is committed to getting rid of them.

"The Government has tasked the UK Border Agency with carrying out an intense period of enforcement activity over the summer. We are determined to make it harder than ever for illegal immigrants to come to the UK," Green said.

UK Border Agency officers arrested two Jamaican men - aged 26 and 44 - when they visited Hylands Park, England, on 18, 19 and 20 August. Both men had overstayed their visas. The Jamaicans, and the man from Burma, were caught working illegally on food stalls on the site.

"Illegal immigration puts pressure on public services, local communities and legitimate businesses at a time when this country cannot afford it," Green said.

"That's why the UK Border Agency is working to cut out illegal employment, sham marriages, bogus colleges and organised traffickers being used by foreign nationals to try to stay in the UK illegally," he added.

Crack down

Immigration Officer Tom Leach, from the local immigration team for Herts and Essex, said his team is "determined to crack down on immigration abuse wherever we find it."

UK Border Agency is currently undertaking a nationwide summer campaign to tackle illegal working, sham marriages, bogus colleges and organised immigration crime.

Earlier this month, British ministers ordered a shake-up of the non-EU student visa system in a bid to crack down on illegal migrants.

Action to expel students belonging to bogus colleges was also stepped up, as figures showed the number of non-EU students coming to Britain jumped by a third to more than 300,000 last year, prompting the government to say the system was floored.

The influx was exacerbated by students bringing with them 31,000 dependants, the Home Office said.

Migration Watch UK, a policy research group, suggests that there were 146,000 Jamaican-born residents living in the UK in 2001.