[Osem]

Although many of us might take some of these things for granted, if you come from a country where there is no healthcare, education, benefits, proper housing/services or decent food it's not hard to see why the UK is an attraction. The absence of endemic disease and chaos further adds to the attraction as does the fact that people are not routinely stopped, questioned and required to provide ID in the UK which is not necessarily the case elsewhere in Europe. These people are not stupid - they're following in others' footsteps and are well aware of the UK's problems deporting individuals. They believe that if they can get here they're unlikely ever to be removed and the figures would back that up too. They know that it can take years to process asylum applications and exhaust the appeals process and if they can start to build relationships and even families they know this will make it even less likely that they'll ever be asked to leave. Having children will in turn open the door to more benefits, better housing/services etc.

I can totally understand why people would want to come here and would even risk their lives to do so. It's a tragic situation.