Shamima Begum case can mark watershed for immigration and aid policy – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE difficulty with denying Shamima Begum re-entry seems to be the claim that she would be rendered stateless.

Arguably it was a practical and moral error not to leave IS a patch of territory within which it could rule those who were its citizens by voluntary migration rather than by conquest.

More broadly, our problem with those wanting to settle in the UK against our wishes is that the country which, on grounds of origins, culture or ethnicity, would seem their more natural home may be seen as abusive or may simply collude with them by withholding its citizenship.

A resolution might be found by redirecting our overseas aid budget. This has already been proposed but in ways such as helping the Ukraine, which is now more the concern of the EU than of ourselves.

This still leaves us donating 0.7 per cent of our GDP to other countries, yet unable to find even one obliging enough to grant its citizenship to those we don’t wish to accommodate here.

Coming to an arrangement with some countries in need also addresses the perennial dilemma of distinguishing between economic migrants, and those genuinely driven by fear of violence or persecution.

In practice this can only be achieved by offering safe sanctuary in a place which confers no economic advantage.

This is not a matter of transferring our problem to countries which are already struggling. Providing a refuge financially attractive to claimants escalates the problem exponentially. Giving it in a way tolerable only to those in real danger keeps it within manageable bounds. With our assistance, it can then become as beneficial for the host country as a new industry. Knowing they will be on the next plane to a new and far from affluent homeland should curb the enthusiasm among migrants for crossing the English Channel in rubber boats.

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James Mitchinson