17 illegal Indian migrants held in UK

LONDON: Over a dozen Indians have been at the receiving end of Britain’s latest crackdown on illegal immigrants and “rogue landlords” who rent out buildings to migrants in an unauthorized manner.
Acting on intelligence and with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Service in an early-morning raid on the weekend, UK Border Agency officers entered seven properties in west London’s Southall district — known as mini-India — and found 17 illegal Indian immigrants, including one woman.Sixteen were detained and one placed on immigration bail.
“All were Indian nationals,” UK’s Home Office said. “Of the 16 detainees, 10 had overstayed their visa, five had entered the UK illegally and one had absconded from immigration reporting restrictions.”
Immigration minister Mark Harper witnessed the raid to note what was being done to check illegal immigrants living in “beds in sheds”. He was joined by his colleague, housing minister Mark Prisk, as part of a cross-government strategy to clamp down on landlords who rent out such buildings illegally.
“Rogue landlords often target vulnerable people, placing them in overcrowded or poor quality accommodation,” the Home Office said. “In some places, people are living in squalid outbuildings or makeshift accommodation — known as beds in sheds.”
Harper said the government was determined to crack down on immigration offenders. “We will help those who wish to leave voluntarily but will enforce the removal of those who refuse,” he said.
“We’re determined to shut down the criminal landlords that run these beds in sheds and exploit some of the most vulnerable people in society,” Prisk said. “Councils facing this problem in their area have a range of powers at their disposal and have been given a share of £1.8 million funding to shut these unsafe and illegal outbuildings down. I want to see councils working with organisations like the UK Border Agency and others to tackle this problem once and for all.”
Recent data shows that six out of every 100 “rough sleepers” in England — homeless people sleeping on streets, in doorways, parks, bus shelters and car parks — are Asians. The statistics released by the Foreign and Commonwealth office last week say 2,309 people lived on streets and in staircases in England in 2012 — up 128 (6%) from the autumn of 2011.