New powers to tackle fake immigration lawyers ‘unworkable in practice’
New powers outlined in a government Bill to crack down on fake immigration ‘lawyers’ have received a mixed reaction, with the head of the Law Society calling the approach a “positive step” but one that will be “unworkable in practice”.
The UK government will table the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill which includes proposals to weed out “fake immigration lawyers offering rogue ‘advice’ to migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims.”
As a result, the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) will be handed new powers under which “fraudulent firms and individuals posing as immigration advisers” could be hit with fines of up to £15,000.
The new laws will also close a loophole that allows someone currently banned from giving immigration advice to continue advising under “supervision”.
In a statement, the Home Office explained there is “growing evidence [that] fake lawyers are acting as middlemen for those trying to abuse the immigration system”.
The Minister for Border Security, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “Shameless individuals offering immigration advice completely illegally must be held to account.”
“People giving out advice when they shouldn’t be, to some of the most vulnerable in society, is extremely concerning,” said the Law Society of England and Wales president Richard Atkinson.
However, Atkinson highlighted that “ensuring there are enough legally aided immigration and asylum lawyers to provide legal advice and representation…will help deter the use of unregulated immigration advisers.”
“We are concerned this proposal will be unworkable in practice as the justice system is already struggling to cope with current levels of demand,” he added.
At the end of September 2024, the Crown Court’s backlog stood at 73,105 open cases, an increase of 10 per cent from the previous year.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) accepts that unless action is taken, the backlog will continue to increase for the foreseeable future, even with the court system working at maximum capacity.
In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor revealed an extra £2.3bn investment into prison expansion as the government aims to “repair the justice system”.
Ahead of local elections later this week immigration is a topic under the microscope as Reform UK aims to make public concern over the state of the system a winning issue.