Immigration Act of 2016 Essay

The Immigration Bill was given a Royal Assent to become a law in the UK and was named as the Immigration Act of 2016. The law, which was passed on 12th May, paved the way for some amendments. First, the authorities can easily impose penalties on illegal immigrants and reckless employers. Second, new policies were introduced that will enable the government to enforce immigration laws and eliminate unlawful migrants from the country. Third, it is impossible for illegal migrants to access driving licenses, housing services and bank accounts because of the introduction of strict regulatory measures. Last, the authorities mandated with enforcement of employees rights can easily collaborate to ensure that regulations are workable as expected. The 2016 Act was aimed at dealing with illegal immigration and imposition of penal measures to everybody who fails to comply with the rules as stated (Clayton, 2016). It gives the respective law-enforcing agencies in the UK significant power and authority that implicates the migrants and the British citizens hugely. Both parties are punishable for failure to follow the right procedures required to be a legal immigrant or migrant in the country. The 2016 Act affects the minority groups and communities in the country such as the blacks and Asians. The essence of this paper is to look deeply into the law and to identify whether it corresponds or not with the contemporary requirements regarding human rights. In addition, the essay is aimed at determining whether the Immigration Act of 2016 complies with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It has both positive and negative impacts on the people although through a deeper deliberation it is evident that the latter is more than the former considering that the law made major revisions to the immigration system without a thorough consideration of their effect on human rights. Despite the claims by the government that the 2016 Acts provisions are meant to safeguard the rights of the migrants and protect them from being exploited, the law is otherwise risking them as they act as the major hindrances to a successful and progressive integration of people from various parts of the world.

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Additionally, the Immigration Act of 2016 has created a hostile environment for all those people that are seeking a different life by coming into the UK from their respective countries. Everyone is motivated to go to the UK for various reasons such as fleeing from political unrest or seeking a better life they never had in their countries. Hence, the inclusion of some provisions in the Act makes it unfavorable for the people who have a direct or indirect connection to it. It affects their rights regarding certain essential aspects such as housing, social welfare, and economic liberties. Immigrants and anyone connected to them such as employers and landlords have to follow the necessary procedures required by the authorities, or otherwise, they are liable for punishment. The non-compliances are punishable differently. For instance, landlords renting properties to individuals without the right immigration status can face a jail term of up to five years. Hence, this implies that some humans are illegal in the UK and association with them is a crime, and it is the citizens responsibility to ensure that such people are forwarded to the necessary authorities. Irrespective of the government's intentions, the 2016 Act does not comply with the provisions of ECHR somehow because it violates the rights of some people while safeguarding others. In addition, we live in a civilized society where every human being deserves fair and justifiable treatment regardless of his or her ethnicity or nationality. Therefore, some measures included in the areas of immigration and asylum in the UK are unjustified and against today's requirements of integration.

Parts of the Immigration Act of 2016

The decisions leading to these corrective measures depend on specific areas of the immigration and asylum law (Immigration, 2016). The Act comprises nine parts that are subdivided into several regions and sections. The parts are as follows:

Some areas, however, have more profound implications on the people than others. They are included within the various parts of the law and depict the significance of the 2016 Act on human rights. Such areas include the following:

Right to Rent

As highlighted above, the Immigration Act of 2016 made significant revisions to the previous laws. Consequently, the Act of 2014 required landlords to inspect their tenants immigration status to ensure they were eligible to rent. However, a penalty of 3000 is applicable if the landlord leases his property to a tenant without the appropriate immigration status. Two years later, the Act of 2016 introduced another punitive measure where landlords who fail to inspect the immigration status of the tenants before renting their property are liable to five years imprisonment with a fine. It is a criminal offense to have a residential tenancy agreement with an illegal adult immigrant as stated in the section 33A of the Act of 2014 that is further emphasized in section 39 of the Act of 2016. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the landlord to make sure that any individual in need of renting a premise is eligible and has proper immigration status. The law is, however, applicable in England only although plans are underway to extend it to the rest of the UK.

Additionally, unlike in other circumstances where the landlord is expected to follow the necessary procedures as directed by the law before evicting a tenant, the Act of 2016 allows termination of the residential tenancy agreement of an individual without appropriate immigration status. After realizing that the prospective tenant is disqualified to rent in England, the property owner has the power to provide written notice through various means such as hand-delivery, posting, or any other suitable way. In addition, section 33D of Act 2014 inserted in section 40 of Act 2016 implies that the landlord can give a notice of eviction upon receiving numerous warnings from the Secretary of State depicting that the tenants in their properties are disqualified (Immigration, 2016). Hence, with such notice, the disqualified tenant is given an ultimatum of 28 days to evict the premises.

Changes to Asylum Support

The commencement of the Immigration Act of 2016 led to significant changes in the support provided to individuals seeking asylum in the UK. Families were initially getting assistance from various sections of the previous Immigration Acts such as section 4 of 1999 but with the current law they cannot apply for support through them, and they have to register under the new requirements specified in section 95A. However, those who had initially registered under previous sections will continue to be accommodated and supported. The changes are accompanied by regulations that were not previously included in which some families can be refused asylum support despite having the appropriate qualifications required. For instance, in the amendments, the families who are appealing rights exhausted are not recognizable in the receipt of support, but they are instead offered assistance for a limited grace period. Its duration will be 90 days and has regulations and provisions that must be adhered to before one is considered an eligible recipient. However, the grace period is 21 days for adults without any dependence from children, particularly below 18 years. In addition, the exception in providing support can be made where certain circumstances are involved. For example, applicants unaware of being refused asylum application or hindered by medical reasons can be exempted. Relatively, the payment will be made in cash unlike in the provision of section 4 where it is done through the Azure card.

Furthermore, before the Act of 2016 was enacted, local authorities were prohibited from supporting refused asylum-seeking families. The new reforms allow the authorities to give assistance to those refused families that have the right qualifications required. It implies that upon refusal to receive support as outlined in section 95A, families have another chance by applying for assistance offered by the local authorities where a section of them can be supported under section 17 of the 1999 Act (Immigration, 2016). Another reform included in the Act of 2016 implies that impoverished refused families can be assisted through a newly developed local authority support unlike before where they applied for help under section 17 of the Children Act. The changes made within the Immigration Act of 2016 are aimed at resolving some issues that hinder the provision of support to the asylum-seeking families in the UK although some of the reforms are unfavorable to some parties especially those without the required qualifications.

Detention and Immigration Bail

Sections 59, 60 and 61 in part three of the Immigration Act of 2016 comprise guidance on the detention of vulnerable people, limitation on the detention of pregnant women and guidelines regarding immigration bail respectively. In section 59, the Secretary of State is required to guide the subordinate authorities on whether persons who are potentially vulnerable to harm should be detained or remain in detention. The individual will be detained according to the provisions of the Immigration Act of 1971, sections 62 and 36 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum of 2002 and the UK Borders Act of 2007 respectively. Hence, it is the respective authorities and bodies' responsibilities to ensure that they adhere to the guidance of the office of the Home Secretary when handling matters concerning people vulnerable to harm.

The section 60 of the Immigration Act of 2016 applies to those women who have been confirmed as being pregnant by the Home Secretary. Certain factors are considered before a pregnant woman is eligible for detention. Some of these circumstances are that the expectant mother is scheduled to leave the UK soon and her detention can be justified by particular factors. A pregnant woman should be detained for more than 72 hours unless there are orders from the Crown Minister where she can be put into custody for a duration not exceeding seven days from the relevant time (Immigration, 2016). Relevant time is when the pregnancy has been confirmed or when the detention begins. Hence, it is required that the respective authorities follow the guidelines of this section when dealing with pregnant immigrants without the right qualifications.

The section 61 of the Act of 2016 states that a person can be freed on bail and be allowed to stay in the UK waiting for further deliberations to make a firm decision. The schedule 10 of this Act does not allow immigrants to have temporary admissions, but instead, they are supposed to seek asylum in the UK through an immigration bail of which the fate of that person will be determined by the decisions made by the office of the Home Secretary. In addition, the secretary has the power to track the detainee when on immigration using a tag until the rig...