London, Aug 3 - Fresh immigration proposals unveiled by the British government Monday are wrong because they target legal rather than illegal migrants and discriminate against people from the Indian subcontinent, the chairman of the parliament's home affairs committee said.

'These are preposterous proposals that have never been discussed either in the Labour party or in parliament,' Keith Vaz, Britain's longest-serving MP of Indian origin, said after the government listed proposals that include cutting off child benefit payments for wives of legal migrants.

'They are unworkable, expensive and deal with legal migrants whereas what worries people in the UK is illegal immigration,' said Vaz.

'These are half-baked proposals that give out the worst possible message -- they clearly discriminate against people from the Indian subcontinent in particular,' he told IANS.

Vaz spoke out after Britain's Home Secretary Alan Johnson unveiled proposals that he said will make it harder for legal migrants who have been allowed to work in Britain under a strict Points Based System to get British citizenship.

Currently, Indians and other non-Europeans can enter Britain only after satisfying overseas visa officers that they are fluent in English, have the necessary qualifications and skills that Britain is looking for and already earn a high salary in their home country.

After five years of working and paying their taxes without a criminal record, they are given the status of 'indefinite leave to remain', at which point they can apply for British citizenship, which is granted after they have passed a written test on life in Britain.

Under the new proposals announced Monday:-

-- The status of 'indefinite leave to remain' will be granted after 10 years of employment, rather than the current five years;

-- People on 'indefinite leave to remain' will not get any of the state benefits that Britons are entitled to;

-- There will be a period of 'earned citizenship', which will involve doing up to three years of unpaid voluntary work, including trade union work;

-- Applicants will have to show commitment to 'British values', and will be penalised for participating in anti-war protests; and

-- The citizenship tests will include sections on British history and politics.