http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9645817.Dad_of_Blackburn_girl_killed_by_illegal_immigrant_backs_criticism_of_UK_Border_Agency/ Dad of Blackburn girl killed by illegal immigrant backs criticism of UK Border Agency 3:00pm Thursday 12th April 2012 in
News A DAD whose 12-year-old daughter was knocked down and killed by an illegal immigrant has backed parliamentary criticism of the UK Border Agency.
The home affairs committee report to MPs said that the body was failing in its “basic functions” in spite of efforts to overhaul it.
It highlighted how the UKBA has provided "inconsistent" information about immigration and asylum cases, has lost track of 119,000 asylum and migration cases, and has released 1,013 foreign nationals from prison without them being considered for deportation.
Amy Houston died after being hit by Iraqi Kurd Aso Mohammed Ibrahim’s car in Highercroft, Blackburn, in November 2003.
Her father, Paul Houston, 41, of Oswaldtwistle, fought for Ibrahim to be deported, but last year he was allowed to stay under Human Rights laws, because he now has two children in the UK.
Mr Houston, said the findings on the UKBA were “particularly relevant” to his case.
The engineer said: “If we had an effective Border Agency, then we wouldn’t be in this mess now, and a lot of the cases would never reach the level of Human Rights.
“Government needs to get a grip of the situation - proceedures need updating and there’s not enough communication between departments or with the police.
“The UKBA lost Mr Ibrahim for a while, and they weren’t aware that he’d been arrested for other incidents after my daughter’s death. I had to tell them.
“I think they get the files and bury them under the carpet and hope they are forgotten about.”
Plans are now in place to split the agency in two - with the UK Border Force, which manages entry to the UK, is to become a separate law-enforcement body reporting directly to the Home Office while the UKBA will be solely responsible for immigration policy work.
Mr Houston said: “I don’t think anybody has a clear idea on how to sort the UKBA out.
“Dividing it up into two parts might be useful, but maybe it will just lead to two incompetent bodies instead of one.”
