Foreign workers should not be casualty of border crisis, says CBI
Businesses are not responsible for high net migration and foreign workers are needed to help ease labour shortages, the head of the Confederation of British Industry has argued as the government prepares to publish its immigration white paper.
Rain Newton-Smith said that economic growth, investment and job creation needed to be 'front and centre'. Debate about immigration has been heightened since the success of Reform UK in local elections last week.
The CBI, one of Britain's five biggest business lobby groups, is concerned that further restrictions on student visas will put more pressure on university finances and add to the perception that hiring immigrants is a lazy or cheap route for employers to access labour.
It argues that it is in fact more expensive and
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Protests over immigration raids pop up across the US with more planned
Protests that sprang up in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement raids and prompted President Donald Trump to mobilize National Guard troops and Marines have begun to spread across the country, with more planned into the weekend. From Seattle and Austin to Chicago and Washington, D.C., marchers have chanted slogans, carried signs against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and snarled traffic through downtown avenues and outside federal offices. While many were peaceful, some have resulted in clashes with law enforcement as officers made arrests and used chemical irritants to disperse crowds. Activists are planning more and even larger demonstrations in the coming days, with 'No Kings' events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump's planned military parade through Washington. The Trump administration said it would continue its program of raids and deportations despite the protests. 'ICE will continue to enforce the law,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted Tuesday on social media. A look at some protests across the country: Austin Four Austin police officers were injured and authorities used chemical irritants to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators Monday night that moved between the state Capitol and a federal building that houses an ICE office. State officials had closed the Capitol to the public an hour early in anticipation of the protest. Austin police used pepper spray balls and state police used tear gas when demonstrators began trying to deface the federal building with spray paint. The demonstrators then started throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at a police barricade, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said. Three officers were injured by 'very large' rocks and another was injured while making an arrest, she said. Austin police arrested eight people, and state police arrested five more. Davis said her department is prepared for Saturday's planned protest downtown. 'We support peaceful protest,' Davis said. 'When that protest turns violent, when it turns to throwing rocks and bottles ... that will not be tolerated. Arrests will be made.' Dallas A protest that drew hundreds to a rally on a city bridge lasted for several hours Monday night before Dallas police declared it an 'unlawful assembly' and warned people to leave or face possible arrest. Dallas police initially posted on social media that officers would not interfere with a 'lawful and peaceful assembly of individuals or groups expressing their First Amendment rights.' But officers later moved in and media reported seeing some in the crowd throw objects as officers used pepper spray and smoke to clear the area. At least one person was arrested. 'Peaceful protesting is legal,' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, posted on X. 'But once you cross the line, you will be arrested.' San Francisco About 200 protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday after activists said several arrests were made there. That gathering came after protests on Sunday and Monday swelled to several thousand demonstrators and saw more than 150 arrests with outbreaks of violence that included vandalized buildings, and damaged cars, police vehicles and buses. Police said two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries. Most of the arrests were Sunday night. 'Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco, but violence, especially against SFPD officers, will never be tolerated,' San Francisco police posted on social media. Police described Monday's march as 'overwhelmingly peaceful,' but said 'two small groups broke off and committed vandalism and other criminal acts.' Several people were detained or arrested, police said. Seattle About 50 people gathered outside the immigration court in downtown Seattle on Tuesday, chanting with drums and holding up signs that said, 'Free Them All; Abolish ICE' and 'No to Deportations.' The protest was initially peaceful but protesters began putting scooters in front of building entryways before police arrived. Mathieu Chabaud, with Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Washington, said they were there in solidarity with the Los Angeles protesters, 'and to show that we're opposed to ICE in our community.' Legal advocates who normally attend the immigration court hearings as observers and to provide support to immigrants were not allowed inside the building. Security guards also turned away the media. The hearings are normally open to the public. New York City A mass of people rallied in lower Manhattan on Tuesday evening to protest deportations and federal immigration policy. Demonstrators gathered outside two federal buildings that house immigration courts and began marching amid a heavy police presence. Some protesters held signs reading 'ICE out of New York' and others chanted, 'Why are you in riot gear? I don't see no riot here.' New York City police said multiple people were taken into custody. There were no immediate charges. Chicago In Chicago, a small crowd gathered Tuesday outside immigration court in downtown and called for an end to Trump administration immigration sweeps and military presence in California. 'With the militarization of Los Angeles it's time to get out and let Trump know this is unacceptable,' said retiree Gary Snyderman. 'All of this is so unconstitutional.' The group then marched through downtown streets drumming and chanting, 'No more deportations!' The demonstration had grown to at least a thousand protesters by late Tuesday, remaining relatively peaceful with limited engagement between the group and police officers. Santa Ana In Santa Ana near Los Angeles, armored vehicles blocked the road Tuesday morning leading into the Civic Center, where federal immigration officers and numerous city and county agencies have their offices. Workers swept up plastic bottles and broken glass from Monday's protests. Tiny shards of red, black and purple glass littered the pavement. Nearby buildings and the sidewalk were tagged with profane graffiti slogans against ICE and had Trump's name crossed out. A worker rolled paint over graffiti on a wall to block it out. National Guard officers wearing fatigues and carrying rifles prevented people from entering the area unless they worked there. While a small group kept up their demonstration Tuesday, several counter-protesters showed up. One man wore a red T-shirt and Make America Great Again cap as he exchanged words with the crowd opposing the raids. Boston Hundreds of people gathered in Boston's City Hall Plaza on Monday to protest the detainment of union leader David Huerta Friday during immigration raids in Los Angeles. Protesters held signs reading 'Massachusetts stands with our neighbors in Los Angeles' and 'Protect our immigrant neighbors,' and shouted, 'Come for one, come for all' and 'Free David, free them all." Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, was released from federal custody later Monday on $50,000 bond. 'An immigrant doesn't stand between an American worker and a good job, a billionaire does,' said Chrissy Lynch, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Washington, D.C. Several unions gathered Monday in Washington to protest the raids and rally for Huerta's release, and marched past the Department of Justice building. Among the demonstrators was U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state. 'Enough of these mass ICE raids that are sweeping up innocent people," Jayapal said. 'As we see people exercising the constitutional rights to peacefully use their voices to speak out against this injustice, they are being met with tear gas and rubber bullets.' ___ Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Leah Willingham in Boston, Michael Hill in New York and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, contributed.
North Wales Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Starmer and Reynolds meet US commerce secretary in push to implement trade deal
The Prime Minister dropped in on a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in Downing Street on Tuesday. Mr Lutnick was in London for talks with China on resolving the trade war between Washington and Beijing, and Mr Reynolds took the opportunity to meet him in person to push for the UK-US trade deal announced last month to be implemented as soon as possible. The meeting follows talks between the Business Secretary and US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Paris last week. Under the terms of the agreement announced by Sir Keir and Donald Trump, the US will implement import quotas that will effectively eliminate tariffs on British steel and cut the levy on vehicles to 10%. But the deal has yet to be implemented and tariffs on both steel and cars remain at 25%, although the UK has been spared the increase on steel duties to 50% that Mr Trump imposed on the rest of the world last week. In a post on social media, Mr Reynolds said he had discussed 'progress on our trade deal – including UK autos and steel' with Mr Lutnick. UK officials remain hopeful that the deal will be implemented soon, but Tuesday's meeting does not appear to have moved the issue beyond both sides agreeing the need to move quickly. Speaking in the Commons last week, Sir Keir said he was 'very confident' that tariffs would come down in line with the deal 'within a very short time'. Implementing the deal will require the UK to pass legislation, likely to involve regulations rather than a full Act of Parliament, while the US will also need to create a legal mechanism to bring steel and vehicle quotas into effect.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gleaming Rachel Maddow floats conspiracy theory about why Trump is sending military to LA protests
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow floated a bizarre theory about Donald Trump 's motives behind sending the military to Los Angeles over the weekend amid widespread protests against immigration enforcement. Maddow, who anchors her show once a week on Monday, peddled the notion that someone convinced Trump that 'attacking immigrants would work for him politically.' To date, Trump has sent 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to LA, a move Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrats have fiercely condemned. Maddow claims Trump did this because he is 'panicking' over the growing number of protests against his mass deportation policy, which was a cornerstone of his campaign. 'He has no idea what to do with the sustained and growing and intractable and indomitable protest and opposition of the American people against him. And so he has decided to try to fix it by using the Army,' Maddow said. 'Game over, big guy. You lose. The movement against Trump is unstoppable, now more than ever.' She suggested his decision to mobilize the national guard and the marines is an example of his lack of political skill. The liberal firebrand likened his approach to containing disturbances in LA to when Trump allegedly suggested to advisors in 2019 that hurricanes should be nuked before they can wreak havoc on the United States. Trump later denied the Axios report. 'What we are seeing right now in California is a president panicking. We have never before in the history of the US presidency, seen a president who is less popular than this one at this point in his term,' Maddow said. 'And we have never seen a president less politically skilled, less politically equipped than this one to turn that kind of problem around.' She went on to talk about the so-called 'No Kings' protests that are set to take place this Saturday, Flag Day, in roughly 1,500 cities in all 50 states. Maddow said this proves Trump's deportation plan is unpopular with the American people, despite public polling showing that there is broad support for what he's doing. A recent CBS News poll found that 54 percent of people approved of the administration deporting illegal immigrants, though it was taken before the protests in in LA erupted on Friday. 'The American people do not want this kind of cruelty against the immigrants who live among us and are our neighbors and friends, and facing that kind of heart and that kind of resolve, and that kind of nonviolent good cheer…he has no idea what to do,' Maddow said. The Daily Mail approached MSNBC for comment. Online, viewers appeared less than impressed with her claims, slamming the TV star for her comments. One person said: 'She makes millions saying this stuff.' Another added: 'Maddow will realize true Americans support Trump when she and the Democrats cry for help and true Americans say they are on their own.' Someone else questioned: 'Why does Rachel Maddow still have a reporting job?' While a fourth suggested she 'needs the same treatment as Terry Moran', who ABC News fired after he penned a social media post calling Trump a 'world class hater' and blasting top advisor Stephen Miller as full of 'bile.' The protests in LA began Friday evening after more than 40 people were arrested in a sweeping operation by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Violence escalated over the weekend when protesters took over streets in downtown LA, torching cars, destroying businesses and looting stores in scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. Trump on Saturday invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy military members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' Notably, he did this without the permission of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move 'un-American.' 'U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes. They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President,' Newsom wrote on X. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama. And the last time marines were deployed on US soil was in 1992, again in LA. That time, it was to tamp down the protests over LAPD officers being acquitted in court after they were caught on video beating Rodney King, a black man. During a speech Tuesday at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Trump spoke to thousands of service members about what is unfolding in LA. He called it an 'invasion and Third World lawlessness,' also pledging that he wouldn't allow the city to be taken over by a 'foreign enemy.' 'We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again,' he added.
