Being illegal, they are denied the right to work and denied access to social housing. And even when not in detention, their freedom of movement is restricted as they’re often required to report periodically (sometimes daily) to a police station or immigration office. Nobody is interested in how they survive and get along. The “illegal” is the one who gained entry by illegal means, or entered legally but has stayed beyond the period allowed in his visa. He is not a criminal, and is human just like everybody else. And the reality is that most of them never get sent back to their home countries. They live as illegals for years, always with the feeling that they are less human than their non-illegal neighbours. Many never realise their full potential as men and women, and for them the dream of a “better life” remains an illusion.