Illegal immigrant wishes she had packed in smoking

It pays not to gossip at work, particularly when you’re an illegal immigrant and the person you’re talking to is a UK Border Agency officer.

A 42-year-old South African woman was cursing her loose tongue when she was arrested by UK Border Agency officers at packaging firm Pak2000, where she had been working illegally.

Pak2000 is based at an office building in St Ives, which also happens to be home to the UK Border Agency’s Local Immigration Team for Cambridgeshire and East Northamptonshire.

Immigration Officer Diana Clark, who made the arrest, said:

‘It was some ill-advised comments which she made during cigarette breaks that first aroused our suspicions and when we carried out checks we discovered the truth.

‘We rely on tip-offs from the public and other sources to crack down on illegal immigration. I’d call on anyone who suspects someone to be living or working in the UK illegally to report it to Crimestoppers.’

Arrangements are being made for the woman’s return to South Africa.

Pak2000 now faces a fine of up to £10,000 unless it can prove that the correct pre-employment checks were carried out.

A tough new civil penalty system was brought in last year to provide a fast and effective way of tackling bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe. A fine of up to £10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found at a business.

Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit the UK Border Agency website or they can call the UK Border Agency’s Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699

Obama’s aunt asylum case to be heard on Feb 04,2010

President Barack Obama’s aunt will remain in the US as an illegal immigrant until at least next year as she awaits a chance to make her case before an immigration judge in her attempt for asylum from her native Kenya.

Zeituni Onyango had an initial appearance in a US Immigration Court in Boston yesterday. At the brief hearing, a judge set her case to be heard on Feb 4, 2010.

Mrs Onyango, who is the half sister of the President’s late father, was ordered to be deported in 2004 but has continued to live in public housing in Boston.

Her claim to remain in the US is likely to centre on the argument that her safety would be in danger in Kenya, either because of political violence or her new found celebrity.

Mrs Onyango, 56, wore a curly red wig and said nothing as she was led away from court with federal protection. Her hearing was closed to the media at the request of her attorney.

Mr Obama has said he did not know his aunt was living in the US illegally. The White House has made clear the President is staying out of the case and believes the appropriate laws should be followed.

Nonetheless his aunt has put the President in a tough position both personally and politically. Mrs Onyango’s request is being reconsidered under a little-used provision in US immigration rules that allows denied asylum claims to be reheard if applicants can show that something has changed to make them eligible.

Kenya has been fractured by violence in recent years. In 2008, more than 1,000 people were killed following a disputed presidential poll, which saw a Luo candidate, Raila Odinga, declared the loser to President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, the largest tribe in Kenya.

Since Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963, periodic tensions have arisen among the Luos – Onyango’s tribe – and some of Kenya’s other tribes, including the Kikuyus. The United States however views Kenya as fairly stable.

Source:The Daily Telegraph(01/04/09)

Lorry death enquiries continue

THE death of a suspected illegal immigrant found in a lorry near Winchester looks unlikely to be suspicious.

Police are investigating the death of a man discovered on the M3 at Winchester.

The man, believed to be east Asian and 25-30 years old, was discovered by officers who stopped an Italian-registered lorry on the southbound motorway between junction ten and nine at around midday on Tuesday.

The 45-year old Italian driver was arrested and was today (WED) being held at North Walls police station in Winchester.

A post-mortem by a Home Office pathologist Debbie Cook on Tuesday evening was inconclusive.

Coroners officer Barry Thomas said: “There are no injuries to the body. It will be down to histology and toxicology tests. It is looking like natural causes.”

The central Hampshire coroner has been informed and an inquest was expected to open next week.

A spokesman for Southampton and Winchester Visitors’ Group, which supports asylum seekers and refugees, described the man’s death as “tragic.”

She said: “Unfortunately it happens too often. To get this far, he has probably been in the hands of ruthless people traffickers.

“He may have given them his life savings or borrowed heavily from his family in order to get away from China either to make a better life for himself or because he did not feel safe.”

Detective Superintendent Dave Williams from Hampshire Major Crime Department said: “At this stage there is no pathological evidence to suggest foul play. Although the man was wearing several layers of clothing and seemed prepared for the cold conditions, we can’t rule out the possibility he died through hypothermia or other natural causes.

“Our enquiry team is currently liaising with the UK Borders Agency, Surrey Police, Kent Police and our partners in Human Trafficking intelligence with a view to identifying the man and the circumstances surrounding his death.

“From other clothes we found inside the trailer, we’re concerned that there were other people, possibly a woman and child, stowed away in the vehicle.

“It’s possible they managed to get out of the vehicle on either the M25 or the M3.” – thisishampshire.net