UK Seems to Follow Trump's Lead on Immigration
The UK is tackling some immigration issues in a decidedly Trumpian manner, as Al Jazeera reports.
First, the UK will be suspending student visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. It will also be suspending work visas for Afghans. These changes come from concerns about the number of migrants present in the UK on these visas who end up seeking asylum. The government has called the suspension an "emergency brake" that is necessary to curb abuse of the visa system.
That, to me, sounds a little Trump-y. Sure, our president's travel bans have a more national security/terrorism flavor. And our approach has been broader than that of the UK– the latter affecting fewer countries and only certain visas. But it feels like different plays out of the same playbook.
Second, the UK will soon be instituting new rules that will require "review" of refugee status "every 30 months." This is super Trump-y. Operation PARRIS is a "sweeping initiative" of the second Trump administration, directing ICE to "reexamin[e] thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims."
