The U. K. government is promising to crack down on an “appalling” fresh wave of illegal immigration that has seen hundreds of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats -- and the government is calling on France to do more to stop the crossings.
“The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling and unacceptably high,” Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a statement. “The figures are shameful.”
At least 235 migrants in 17 boats landed or were picked up by British Coast Guard and Border Force boats on Thursday, surpassing last week’s record of 202 arrivals in one day.
Patel, a hardliner on immigration in Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, said that the government is working both to stop the boats leaving France, and also to intercept and return those making the crossings.
Patel in her statement warned, however, that the matter was “complex” and faces “serious legislative, legal and operational barriers.”
Successive British governments have for decades been struggling with the flow of illegal immigration across the Channel, both from migrants traveling on boats and those trying to smuggle themselves through ports of entry in the backs of trucks and other vehicles.
Immigration activists have said that many migrants have legitimate reasons to go to the country and the government should offer legal routes to get... (Read more)
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