A few years ago we tried to see if we could bring the mother-in-law over to live with us, but due to her coming from a non EEA/EU country we were told there was no chance unless she relied on us 100% for everything and had no other family in the Philippines who could care for her. I guess the immigrants will have to prove that is the case with their family members also.
There was a loophole of course, it was British immigration law that was being used to prevent her coming here. However if we moved her to an EU country for at least a year, then EU law would be applicable and after that she could have applied to come here. It's how a lot of South Asian families ended up coming here legally. Many went to live in the Republic of Ireland for a year and then were free to come to the UK.
I argued with the person on the phone that it seems ridiculous that someone from Belgium for example can just come to live here and bring their family if they wish, whereas me - a British citizen isn't allowed to do that - it seems incredible that someone from the EU has more rights in the UK than one of it's own. I asked if they agreed the system seemed messed up in this situation and the reply was "pass".