Is there an alternative Motive to making the 3 Million EU Citizens a Brexit Bargaining Chip?

Pre-referendum the position on the 3 million EU citizens was clear. Whatever the outcome the rights of those already resident in the UK will be protected. A joint statement made on June 1^st, 2016 signed by Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and Gisela Stuart on the Vote Leave webpage states:

“…there will be no change for EU citizens already lawfully resident in the UK. These EU citizens will automatically be granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK and will be treated no less favourably than they are at present.”

Fast forward two months and suddenly the rights of the EU citizens ended up being negotiation capital. Even during the race for nomination for the Prime Minister position contenders Andrea Leadsom and Steve Crabb distanced themselves from using the 3 million EU citizens as “negotiation chips”.  They did not win the race and the UK ended up with a former Home Office minister as Prime Minister - a person whose record on the treatment of immigrants is terrible – creating an Immigration Act designed in her words “to create a hostile environment” for illegal migrants by a package of measures including requiring landlords to check on the immigration status of all prospective tenants culminating in the infamous Operation Vaken “Go Home” vans touring immigrant communities.

Since the referendum the Prime Minister has changed the line of the Leave Campaign in regards to the EU citizens from guaranteed no change in rights to demanding a reciprocal agreement with the EU on UK citizens in the EU. Her argument is that British citizens in the EU need protecting too. Unfortunately, she did not listen to the very people she claims to protect. Allmajor British Expat organisations have been pleading with the government to secure the rights of EU citizens in the UK now as they worry that making people negotiation capital will cost goodwill and threatens their own position.

Thus, it raises the question what is the main driver behind the Prime Minister’s stance of using people as Bargaining Chip if it is neither what all leave campaigns had promised before nor what the Britons in the EU want. Beside the 180 degree turn on the guarantee for EU citizens there has been a shift in language within the government benches that is far more worrying. Rather than talking about rights ministers are now solely talking about the right to remain ensuring the public that no one would be deported. Something, no matter what the negotiation outcome, that would be impossible even after Brexit under several international laws anyway. The government knows that British companies and public services are highly dependent on the economically active immigration population.

Therefore, if making EU citizens negotiation capital is neither in the interest of Britons in the EU nor the British economy why is the government choosing to do so. The only conclusion can be found in the slightly changed rhetoric of the government ministers towards the economic value and cost of immigrants.  On January 26^th, 2017 Iain Duncan Smith made the government position on immigrants very clear by classifying immigrants into high value/low volume and low value/high volume and thus, reducing people to no more than their economic value. Combining that with the ongoing focus on non-deportation omitting any other rights but the right to stay the government line is becoming more transparent. EU citizens are welcome as long as they aid the British economy but aren’t welcome as soon as they become a burden.

By not guaranteeing all rights now the Prime Minister has opened up the possibility of cutting off the 3 million EU citizens from the NHS, social security system and possibly the UK state pension should the negotiations with the EU go sour. Something every single one of the 3 million should be afraid of. There will be no deportation orders needed when the UK government simply stops looking after those who fall ill, become disabled or go into retirement. They will have to leave voluntarily.