Immigration Control

• According to WorkPermit.com, the social burden placed on the United Kingdom from an immigration explosion has caused the Conservative and the Labor parties to suggest stronger measures of control. Conservatives have complained that immigration poses a threat to national security and want annual limits set and increased security at travel ports. Both the Conservative and Labor parties have suggested using a points system similar to the one found in Australia, which would award merit points to immigrants for education, employment, language skills and their ability to pass a "Britishness" test. Critics of the political debate point out that the United Kingdom already has a points system in place called the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).
  
  

Homosexual Immigration

• Immigration of homosexuals is another issue that exists in the United Kingdom. Because 80 countries consider homosexuality illegal, many gay and lesbian immigrants go the United Kingdom to seek asylum. In response to this tendency, British charities and activists have extended social and legal support to those who wish to live quiet productive lives with their same-sex partners. Support groups provide services such as help lines, information, legal referrals, support meetings, detention-center visits, and interviews to document cases, research of human rights issues, and training and education.
  
  

Immigration and Detention Centers

• The subject of immigration in the United Kingdom has brought another issue to the surface: the detention center code of conduct, particularly toward children. The code of practice of the United Kingdom Border Agency has been improved to include ensuring the safety of detained children. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has supported the extra effort toward child safety, but expressed concern about children of any age being housed in detention centers. The Committee has called for efforts on the part of the United Kingdom Border Agency to also ensure that child detention is used as a last resort, and that children are detained for the least amount of time possilble.
  
  

Identification Cards

• According to MigrationExpert.com, widespread immigration in the United Kingdom has introduced the issue of identification cards for foreign nationals living in the country, The cards, which were issued in November of 2008, are meant to help decrease terrorism threats, protect against identity fraud, reduce the use of dual identities in criminal activities, decrease the abuse of trust from positions of authority, weed out illegal workers and help people permitted to live in the United Kingdom to prove their identities. The identity cards bear the person's name, nationality, date of birth and status of immigration, making it easier for employers and schools to determine a person's work and study eligibility.
  
  

Immigration Impact On Wages

• According to the University College of London (UCL), a study of the time period 1997 to 2005 shows that immigration to the United Kingdom had a positive effect on native-born workers. The UCL's economics department explained the phenomenon by saying that immigration can cause an increase in wages if there is a disparaging difference between skills being offered by native workers and those being offered by immigrants. The department went on to say that while wages tend to increase for some native workers, not all will reap the benefits of immigration influx.