Britain will begin cutting immigration before it even leaves the European Union, the Home Secretary promised today.
Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Amber Rudd said her department would target non-EU immigrants in a bid to reduce net migration in the run up to Brexit.
Ms Rudd promised to crack down on student visas and prosecute landlords who rent out property to people they know to be illegal immigrants.
“Furthermore, from December, immigration checks will be a mandatory requirement for those wanting to get a licence to drive a taxi,” she added.
“And from next autumn, banks will have to do regular checks to ensure they are not providing essential banking services to illegal migrants.
“Money drives behaviour, and cutting off its supply will have an impact.”
The Home Secretary also promised to set up a £140 million “Controlling Migration Fund” to help local authorities deal with the high pressure mass immigration is putting on public services.
“The fund will build on work we have done to support local authorities,” she said, “To stop giving housing benefit to people that have no right to be in the country. To reduce rough sleeping by illegal immigrants. And to crack down on the rogue landlords who house illegal migrants in the most appalling conditions.
She also pledged to fund more English-language classes for newly-arrived legal migrants.
Moving on to foreign criminals, the Home Secretary promised to deport repeat offenders who come from EU countries.
“For the first time, we will deport EU nationals that repeatedly commit so-called minor crimes in this country.
“So-called minor crime is still crime – its pain is still felt deeply by victims. Well, those criminals will face being banned from coming back to the country from between 5 and 10 years.”
Breitbart London reported in May how more than 80 EU nationals are arrested every single day in London.
Figures showed that police arrested 32,214 in 2014, of whom 12,266 were charged – around 1,000 a month.