WHILE admitting to not being a strong supporter of this Government, I do find it encouraging when any steps are taken to control the unacceptable level of immigrants and asylum seekers who are flooding the country.

Predictably, when one of these families are faced with deportation, it is greeted in some quarters with condemnation.

What we do know about Hasan Yaman's application for asylum was that it was rejected on the grounds of insufficient evidence of persecution in his native Turkey. By his own admission, this man has been detained by Turkish police for being a political agitator. Although it may seem harsh to restrict opinions in this way, genuine free speech is a luxury rarely afforded in this country.

If you also take into account the drain on health and education resources caused by families such as these when we are constantly being told of financial difficulties facing the local primary care trusts, it should be welcomed when steps are taken to address the matter.

These views may be construed by some as racist, but if racism is the belief that local people receive preferential treatment over migrants who have legally no right to be here, then so be it.

A Priestman, Hull Road, York.