U.K. Cuts Immigration as Economy Slows Down -- Wake up Washington

From The Wall Street Journal:

It's becoming tougher to get into Britain.

Faced with an economic downturn, rising unemployment and increasing terrorism concerns, the U.K. -- long one of the world's most open countries -- is taking a turn against immigration. Politicians are paying more attention to issues such as national identity, and the government is putting in place measures that foreigners say have made the country less welcoming.

A new points-based immigration system, parts of which were introduced last week, raises hurdles for all but the most highly skilled workers. The system, modeled after one in use in Australia, grades workers and students hoping to enter the U.K. on criteria including education, age and need for their skills.

Other European countries are also clamping down on new immigration as their economies slow and citizens complain too many people are being allowed in. Britain, however, along with France and Germany, was among the first to open its borders to large-scale immigration from non-European countries after World War II.

"We are growing the population largely by immigration, and that is changing what we mean by England," says Mr. Field [, a Labour member of Parliament]. "And the voters of England have never been consulted."