Demonstrate in defense of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants

You should try to look at the other side of the issue, its not as black and white as you make out. Many asylum seekers continually appeal, drawing out the legal process, and costing a lot of money. Basically none of those deemed illegal are made to leave. About a fifth of all appeals are successful, but the 4/5s of illegals aren't made to leave. The UK can't cope with huge amounts of refugees, and mass migration reduces integration and encourages racism and ghettoisation. As far as housing, transport, local authority capabilities, hospitals, and integration go we can only take a certain amount.

To not expel those only doing it for economic reasons means we can accept less who actually are being tortured and so on. Sure, we can sympathise with those coming from poor countries for economic reasons, but we sympathise more with the refugees coming from tyrannies that are torturing them, and also the poor people in Britain who have to pay for this stuff.

Migration is good for the economy and society up to a certain point, but it has to be managed and not illegal. Turning a blind eye to illegal immigration means gang masters, the architects of organised crime, many with links to terrorism such as in Albania, get the money and exploit the poor immigrants. If they know they can't get in here they can't be exploited.

This is not racist by the way, non-white communities in Britain also want immigration to be more controlled and so on. This is also not a universal, black and white issue like you make out. The left in America has historically been anti-immigration for labour market reasons (even if they also stand up for immigrants), and the right has been pro-immigration for the same reasons, are you going to say the American left is racist and the American right anti-racist on this issue?

Btw, I don't want to get involved in any long argument, so am not going to post any more comments. Just think you should consider the other side of the issue. Its just common sense that immigration should be controlled. Even if you believe in mass migration, it should still be controlled.

TNT,

Some interesting points there, it is true the whole Assylum Seeker / Immigrant debate has been hijacked by many on both the Left and Right into a simple Race issue which does little to address the problems.

all asylum seekers are enrichers, they give the economy billions each year.....from their giro's!

The language used by TNT and others - "we", "Britain", "UK" etc. shows where they're coming from. How DARE anyone section off parts of the earth's surface, call them nations, states, or whatever, then declare only certain people can cross their lines and enter the bubbles thus created.

Not only is this behaviour depraved, it's anti-human and ultimately futile. Homo sapiens is a MIGRATORY species. We always have been, as far as we know. Trying to prevent people moving around the planet according to their needs or wishes just doesn't work. You might as well try to legislate against hairs growing on people's heads. People manage to get into (and more frequently out of) even prison states like N.Korea. Attempts at stopping people from leaving one part of the planet for another are relatively recent in terms of our history - around 4 or 5 thousand years. The point is, the doomed project of states and borders has resulted in a whole load of needless misery, oppression and killing, and this is increasing as disparities between different parts of the planet are cranked up by capitalism.

The denoument is yet to come, as whole swathes of the earth become uninhabitable through climate change. Bangladesh and many Pacific islands look like being the first to go under. And whose "sod the future" consumption is causing that?

The myopia of "here's tae us and those wha's like us" has to stop. If you aren't moved, angered and inspired to action by the rapidly worsening situation of the "shut out" majority of the world's people, then try thinking rationally about the future of our species and our planet. Carving it up, drawing lines on maps, has contibuted to sowing the seeds of our destruction. Here in western Europe, we're not the first feel the effects, but building walls to keep out the folk who are and buy a few more years' dillusion gets us nowhere. It's not the whole solution, but borders have to go. The place to start, of course, is where we are. If that's Leeds, get down that action! If it's anywhere else, organise something similar. There's a border round us. Our sisters and brothers are outside. Let's bust it.

Stroppyoldgit

The point is that people flee war, poverty and persecution and come here to the UK, get locked up in 'detention centres', beaten by racists and fascists, forced to live on below poverty benefits (£33 a week!) and then sent home, sometimes to be executed.

The UK is built on immigration, therw is no such thing as 'English'. We have to unite with workers from all over the world to take on the bosses, if people are racist it just divides us and sets us against each other.

The demo will be an opportunity for everyone to coem and express their opinions, we will be putting out a pro asylum message and hoping to cut against the vile racism of Labour, the BNP and the racist press .