Home Office Failing to Keep Asylum Seekers Out

www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Asylum seekers who came to the UK in order to escape their own countries are now winning the right to stay. The court is saying this is because of a "shambolic" failing on the new emigration hearing system.

Almost hundreds of appeals are now going through without any kind of representative from the Home Office. The first cases had many Home Office representatives there to help defend their original decision to deny asylum seekers. Emigration lawyers have admitted that this new turn of events has really helped in aiding their clients win cases. Some of these cases they are sure that they might have otherwise lost.

This new information is sure to help explain why there has been an increase in the number of asylum seekers who are winning their appeals. In fact, the number of them that are winning appeals has increased from 17 percent in 2005 up to 25 percent in the third quarter of 2008. However, a lot of politicians are now being critical of the situation in which these asylum cases are won and how they are not being properly cross examined.

In just the last two weeks, many newspapers attended 25 hearings around the country. At 24 of these 25 meetings, no Home Office representation was found. In the one hearing that an officer did show up, she was late, and did admit that she was not fully prepared. Some sources are saying that the Home Office is failing to properly defend almost a third of their cases.

The Home Office said that this is a common problem because of the lack of qualified staff that can represent the Home Office.

For more information visit: www.homeoffice.gov.uk