UK Prime Minister Theresa May says 'Windrush generation' are British, will not be deported
UK Prime Minister Theresa May says the Windrush generation -- African-Caribbean people who immigrated to Britain after World War ll as cheaper labor – are British and her government will not deport them.
At a Downing Street meeting with Caribbean leaders on Wednesday, May said Britain welcomes the so-called Windrush generation and recognizes “the enormous contribution they have made to this country."
The UK government "valued" the contribution they had made, she said, and they had a right to stay in Britain.
Her remarks come amid reports some are still facing deportation.
The deportation of one man, which had been due to take place on Wednesday, has been halted following an intervention by Labour Party lawmaker David Lammy.
Who are the Windrush generation?
Much like Dreamers who were brought to the United States as children, many immigrant kids who arrived in the United Kingdom from the Caribbean and other former British colonies a half-century ago face an uncertain future.
They are the descendants a generation, named after a ship — the MV Empire Windrush — that docked in the UK in June 1948 with cleaners, bus drivers, bricklayers and nurses from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other British territories as labor who would reconstruct war-ravaged Britain.
They arrived in the UK legally under previous freedom of movement laws for nationals of the Commonwealth, an intergovernmental organization of 53 member states that were mostly former territories of the British Empire. The immigrants did not need elaborate documentation or proof of British citizenship. Many never registered and did not obtain papers or documents of citizenship.
Changes to migration rules mean those who lack documents are now being told they need evidence to continue working, access key services or even remain in the UK
The new rules on immigration mean some of these immigrants are now being classified as illegal. They have faced deportation threats and in some cases stripped of their rights to access health care, employment and pensions.
The issue has come to light following a new round of clampdowns on illegal immigration in recent years, with requirements for people to have documentation to work, rent a property or access benefits including healthcare.
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