Concerns are growing over new draft sentencing guidelines that critics say could make it easier for foreign offenders to avoid deportation—and pile pressure on an already overstretched immigration system. The Sentencing Council’s latest recommendations have sparked a political firestorm, with claims they could “blow a hole in border enforcement.”
At the heart of the row is a move by the Sentencing Council to encourage judges to hand down prison terms of less than 12 months for certain immigration offences—despite the law allowing much tougher penalties. And that’s significant, because anyone jailed for 12 months or more becomes eligible for deportation.
