The telegraph
Canal migrants’ crossings have more than doubled as action emerged in the UK
The number of migrants crossing the English Channel is more than double in the first quarter than in the last quarter. This is shown by new numbers, as a former Border Force chief warned that smugglers are hastening trade before Priti Patel carries out asylum. The number of small boat crossings to England hit a record close to 1,400 in the first three months of the year, which would put the 20,000 total on track for 2021 unless the trend can be reversed. More than 140 migrants, including babies, reached the UK on Tuesday, the second highest total for a single day this year after the 183 who made it to the UK on six boats last week. At least five boats were intercepted by the Border Force and taken to Dover port with the migrants. That means that around 1,400 crossed the canal this year, two and a half times as many as in 2020 (514) in the first three months of the year. Given current trends, this would mean that the number of migrants would slightly exceed last year’s record of 8,713. Tony Smith, former director general of the Border Force, warned that smugglers would take advantage of the Home Secretary’s crackdown on asylum last week to tell migrants they will have to cross to overcome the new measures. “There will be an acceleration in activity to scrutinize before the government does anything it will,” Smith told The Telegraph. Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said, “More than twice as many this year from January to March 2020.” These dangerous crossings will continue and increase until it becomes clear that the road to entry is plentiful in the UK illegally closed to apply for asylum. “It comes just a week after Priti Patel announced plans to deny illegal migrants the right to settle in the UK, even if they are granted asylum, a move designed to curb people smuggling. The Home Secretary suggests that those who are granted asylum should only be given “temporary protection status” which means they are regularly screened for their deportation from the UK, have limited family reunification rights and have no access to benefits, it unless they are penniless. Only those who come to Britain legitimately – through official government refugee programs from war zones or to avoid persecution – are entitled to permanent residence.
