Exactly what I was about to post. It's this single fact that irritates me more than any other. No problem in anyone wanting a better life, we won the lottery being born here, but why always single males? If my family was at risk I'd die helping them get the fk away not leave them and say I'll send for you when I'm settled.
Well our rules are part of the reason for that.
Talk about immigration and one of the first things is "they should pay their own way!" Which is fine, but that means the criteria we set to come here are largely based around economic factors. People in another thread are at pains to point out the difference in culture, and for many the role of a woman is to stay and home and have children - not going to meet our criteria to come here are they.
Plus as people have said it's a perilous (often costly) journey and it can be much easier and safer to get family across once another family member is already here. So you could have family follow in a much safer way later on.
Of course I understand the thought that if what they're fleeing is so bad you would want to get your wife and children out first, but as I say it's not that simple because nowhere else wants to take you.
So what do we do?
Do we say men have to be married to be allowed in? Cos that could easily be manipulated with convenience/sham marriages, or some that are married but hold medieval views towards women anyway due to culture or whatever. And even with genuine, nice immigrants you'd still have people here complaining they were coming for the child benefits because they're from a culture with a high birth rate (whether it's true or not).
Do we only allow women and children to come? Although they would arguably garner more sympathy there would still be the complaints they were taking up housing and school places, plus more likely to rely on state handouts because they're from a culture where women don't 'work' in the sense we take it as going out and earning money through employment. And even then they'd surely be wanting to bring their husbands to keep the family together and you just end up with the men anyway, or you split up the family and the issues that causes because you don't want the men.
I agree we need to improve the system, predominantly around quicker processing, and some of my thoughts would infuriate a lot of left wing liberals. I'd be happy for anyone to have to be held securely until they're processed and if they complain then offer them a ticket home instead. And for those that come here without documentation and refuse to reveal their identity/nationality then they can be considered undesirable, have their application denied purely on that and where stuff like Rwanda
could possibly come in. If we don't know where you're from we can send you to any other country that has agreed to take you.
