You have escaped the unspeakable atrocities in your own homeland, braved perilous and terrifying conditions as you fled, but eventually, having lost everything, you reach salvation: the haven of a democratic country and the chance to rebuild your shattered life. Surely, even though it may be contrary to the letter of their immigration laws, this free-thinking, tolerant society will show pity and welcome you.

Forget it.

Instead the only “welcome” you get is “GO HOME” printed large on the side of a van. And this is not some far-right lobby. Oh no. This greeting comes from our very own elected government. Theresa May, in her greatest wisdom, gave the go-ahead to this £10,000 pilot scheme aimed at getting illegal immigrants to pack up and leave. What a fantastic idea; of course the reaction of any law-abiding illegal immigrant reading this sign would be to be overcome with guilt, pack their bags, and return to the hell from whence they came.

No wonder she decided to axe this ridiculous campaign almost as soon as it had been dreamt up. Not only was it a disgustingly insensitive approach to the immigration issue, it was also useless: it reportedly resulted in the departure of a one single immigrant. After this laughable failure, we must face difficult questions about how we deal with immigration issues in this country.

Contrast this approach with that of the Swedes. In line with their excellent reputation for social responsibility, they recently took the enormously generous decision to grant permanent residence to Syrian refugees seeking asylum. Their compassionate understanding of the desperate needs of these displaced people may not be a vote-winning move, but is so clearly what they need most. The permanence of the offer gives immigrants the opportunity to rebuild their lives, and let’s not forget that in most cases people forced to leave their homes due to war will be eager to return as soon as the conflict has ended.  This solution seems to me like the moral and right way of dealing with the issue, and the callous policies of our government are embarrassing by comparison.

And as a final thought, it is amazing how the majority of the time the media only highlights the negative impacts of immigration; it is in fact a mutually beneficial process. We must not forget the good immigrants have done for our country: our health service would collapse without them (despite the popular portrayal of immigrants putting a burden on the NHS), we would not have the “Great British” company that is Marks and Spencer, nor the iconic British Mini – both of course created by immigrants.