What I've noticed about the changes to the immigration law in this country is that they give a new form of penalty to the criminal justice system, that of deportation. A judge looking at a case in front of him now has to realize that his or her action may not just put a person in jail, but may result in their deportation. They may not choose to find that person guilty as a result of the cruel and unusual punishment that may come from that person being deported.
Is that part of what's going on in Britain as well?