Small companies will face massive fines for not checking the papers of everyone they hire. Landlords will be put out of business for renting rooms to anyone without permission to be in the UK. With its Rwanda policy stalled, and with the numbers of illegal immigrants still at record highs, the government has a big new idea for trying to stem the numbers of people coming into the country. It will get small businesses to police the system. The only trouble is, that will damage the economy, and we will all suffer from that.

The government’s latest big idea for controlling immigration is to make it a lot harder for anyone who is here illegally to work or find somewhere to live. According to the minister in charge, Robert Jenrick, fines will be tripled for employers who hire anyone without the right paperwork. Likewise, landlords who rent out rooms to illegal immigrants will face huge increases in the penalties for doing so. Anyone who breaks the rules will be ‘bankrupted’ and ‘put out of business’, apparently.

Of course, on one level it is not hard to see where the government is coming from. If you can’t work, or find somewhere to live, the UK will be less attractive to illegal migrants. Indeed, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the relative ease with which illegal immigrants can find work and accommodation is one of the reasons why so many come here despite the risks. And there may well be a handful of small businesses in sectors such as agriculture or hospitality where employers turn a blind eye to someone’s precise immigration status if it means they can get the work done cheaply.

And yet, there are three big problems. First, many small businesses and landlords may not know how to check residency status. It can be a tricky process and one where it is easy to make mistakes. Next, even if they do know what they are required to do, it will cost time and money which a small business, or a landlord with one or two properties, may not be able to afford. Finally, it will add to an increasingly bewildering set of legal obligations imposed on small companies. In reality, we have already piled far too many burdens on businesses and landlords. Many landlords have already given up, and decided it is no longer worth the hassle of renting out a property, and quit the market, and that has driven rents up to record highs. Likewise, many small businesses will soon give up if we put any more responsibilities on them.

There is something worrying about a Conservative government, or any government come to think of it, threatening to put small employers out of business. In fact, it is the job of the government to control the borders, not the task of companies or landlords. We can push that on to businesses if we want to. But we can’t be surprised if many of them eventually conclude that the UK is not a country where it is worth the bother of renting out a property or trying to employ someone and give up completely. And we will all be poorer for that.