I would say that is the only reasonable explanation. The US, for all of it's faults in the immigration department, really only has a bone to pick with illegal i

I would say that is the only reasonable explanation. The US, for all of it's faults in the immigration department, really only has a bone to pick with illegal immigration. Unfortunately, in the UK, it's also the legal immigration that takes the hit. What is doubly interesting to me, is that because there are no exit checks at the border, there are no reliable statistics for net migration -- immigration minus the British (and other foreign nationals) that leave the country every year. So the panic-machine gets it's statistical fuel with every passing year, despite it not being adjusted for emigration, and all the while ignoring the measurable benefits that increased immigration is bringing with it.