MPs say illegal migrants should be able to work

A growing cross-party campaign for the 500,000 long-term illegal migrants in Britain to be given an amnesty with rights to work in this country will gain pace at Westminster today as MPs call for the regularisation of "irregular" migrants on humanitarian, security, and economic grounds.

Jon Cruddas, a candidate for the Labour deputy leadership, is to table a cross-party Commons motion in support of the changes, which have received celebrity backing in the form of Nick Broomfield, the director of a documentary-style film based on the story of the 23 illegal Chinese immigrants who died while picking cockles for a gang master in Morecambe Bay.

The scandal over the exploitation of illegal migrants has prompted an outcry, but so far the Government has refused to ease the immigration rules to allow them to work legally, fearing that it could act like a magnet for more migrants to Britain.

Backing demands for action on the plight of "illegal" workers who were the subject of his film Ghosts, Mr Broomfield said: "Our economy would collapse overnight without immigrants. Their labour enables us to have a much higher standard of living but the Government won't recognise the debt we have in this mutual relationship."

The Commons motion calls for a full cross-party debate to consider granting "indefinite leave to remain" as part of a one-off regularisation for migrants who have lived in the UK for more than four years, have a command of English and a referee who is either an employer or person of standing in the community'.

The campaign says they should be allowed a two-year work permit as a pathway to being allowed to stay provided they work and pay taxes. It says the majority make a valuable economic contribution to Britain despite living under the shadow of illegality. It also acknowledges the estimate by the left-leaning think-tank, the IPPR, that regularisation of migrant workers could raise £1bn in taxes.

Mr Cruddas said: "Many have been here for a very long time, have had children here and make an immense contribution. Regularisation is about providing a solution to the problem everyone knows exist but which everyone runs from."

The Strangers into Citizens campaign is organising a mass rally at Trafalgar Square on the workers' bank holiday, 7 May, to highlight the demands for action. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, will deliver a Mass for migrant workers at Westminster Cathedral.

Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said: "All asylum-seekers should be allowed to fend for themselves by working if possible. To refuse to let them do so is vindictive and leads to tensions in our society."

The campaign is also being supported by Ken Livingstone, the Labour Mayor of London.