Lawmakers criticise UK Border Agency for 'Bermuda Triangle' of 275,000 lost migrants

London, July 23 (ANI): The UK Border Agency faces a backlog of more than 275,000 immigration cases that it has not resolved, lawmakers on the Home Affairs Committee have said.

According to The BBC, for the first time in their tri-annual report on the agency, the MPs gathered all categories of cases that remain unresolved.

A spokesman said the MPs also highlighted the improvements the committee had suggested to tackle "the huge backlog of cases we inherited".

The committee said it would take the UKBA "years" to clear the backlog, and it was concerned the agency might not have enough resources to do so.

The committee said the backlog included cases of at least 150,000 migrants, who had been refused permission to stay in the UK, about 21,000 asylum cases, 3,900 foreign offenders living in the community, 57 foreign criminals released in 2006 without being considered for deportation and who had not yet been traced, 80,000 asylum applications and 21,500 immigration cases in the "controlled archive" of cases where the UKBA had lost track of the applicant.

British MPs said the UKBA "does not have a strong record in deporting foreign national offenders".

It recommended that the agency makes a team to examine why foreign criminals in the country had not been sent home and to ensure they were deported.

They also criticised the way border officials responded to tip-offs about suspected illegal immigrants. (ANI)