I am writing in response to your article about immigration enforcement visits to restaurants (‘They singled out non-white, foreign-born workers’: the restaurants raided by Britain’s version of ICE, 24 March). While public debate often becomes quickly polarised on this issue, I believe most people would agree on two simple principles: the law should be upheld, and people should be treated with dignity.
It is reasonable for any government to enforce immigration and employment law, and businesses should operate within those laws. However, enforcement methods matter greatly. When enforcement appears intimidating, targeted or publicly disruptive, it risks creating fear not only among those breaking the law, but also among lawful workers, customers and communities.
A country is judged not only by its laws, but by how it enforces them. Firm enforcement and humane treatment should not be opposites; a confident society should be capable of both at the same time. True justice is not found in harshness or leniency alone, but in the balance between strength, fairness and humanity.
Aurelia Maynard
Camberley, Surrey
• ICE has a chilling effect – and is meant to. Servants of authority enjoy having power and relish making others feel it. If they wanted to check on a workforce, they could get the paperwork from the management and have a civilised visit – not a mob-handed interruption of diners’ pleasure that will put the poor punters off going there again – to see the people who correspond to the names on the payroll. It would take about 30 minutes immediately before the restaurant opens, when all the staff will need to be there, but not under immediate pressure, and it would be a civilised interaction.
Mike Rogers
Frome, Somerset
• Regarding your article on Britain’s version of ICE, I was holidaying recently in Wales, having a curry in a nice restaurant. In they came, just three of them in their big uniforms, so everyone could see, asking inane questions that everyone could hear, that a daytime, non-uniform visit could have covered, if really necessary. This was low-level intimidation, to establish a baseline. I am from Belfast – we know this sort of stuff. Did we vote for this creeping authoritarianism? Apparently we did. Did we vote for a government comfortable with Reform-style policies? Apparently we did.
Paul Maguire
Belfast
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