THE EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS OF BEING A MIGRANT IN BRITAIN
authorities, is certainly at the centre of it. Attention needs to be paid to the issue of migrants who face exploitation and discrimination but are unable to use the legislation because of actual or perceived barriers. Both human rights and antidiscrimination legislation need to be fully extended into the individual home to cover labour relations. The treatment of foreign national prisoners and immigration detainees raises many human rights concerns but also some related to discrimination and community cohesion. The work that migrants do often makes a hidden or indirect contribution to community cohesion, social capital and inclusion. Yet the ready identification of the arrival of larger numbers of migrants as the cause of a lack of cohesion in a neighbourhood, which then needs remedies such as informing and engaging migrants, may actually be a complete reversal of cause and effect: because they are poor and new, migrants often find themselves forced to live in areas where cohesion is poor or non-existent. The assumption that migrants are the cause of weak cohesion due to their lack of willingness to learn English or to participate actively in British society has led to some of the compulsory elements of civic integration. Current and future proposals for civic integration may have the effect of reinforcing formal and informal discrimination based on nationality and stereotyping. Lengthening the period of qualification for citizenship and requiring ‘active citizenship’ over and above that required of other citizens may also serve to exclude migrants who are paying taxes and contributing to public services as much as or more than UK-born citizens. Including English as a requirement for permanent residence raises other issues. The current proposals for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) funding may exclude men and those without children, while local discretion on priorities may lead to discrimination and will need careful monitoring at a national level. The ways in which ESOL is delivered fail to take account of different needs, such as those of people with sensory impairments, people caring for disabled people or children, elderly people and those working non-standard hours. The notion that migrants do not wish to take up citizenship is contributing to some of the proposed changes heralded in The Path to Citizenship and outlined in the Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill. Yet the take-up of citizenship varies significantly and is low among EU citizens for whom it is likely to continue to be so. Among non-EU migrants from less wealthy countries, it is above average. Proposed changes will make the path to citizenship more rather than less complex, and will leave non-EU migrants with temporary and precarious statuses for longer. Hardening the divide between permanent residence and citizenship fails to take into account the increasingly complex patterns of contemporary migration and mobility.
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