Notorious human traffickers have turned to yachts to transport migrants across the English Channel to Britain.
British Border Force intercepted hundreds of migrants last week, with a large group found on a suspected stolen yacht. The single-masted vessel was secured alongside the Border Force catamaran, Hurricane, while three other migrant groups reached the Port of Dover despite foggy conditions at sea.
Surge In Channel Crossings
A large group composed of men, women, and children, all clad in orange life jackets, alight from the gangway at the immigration processing centre. Authorities estimate that at least 200 migrants have arrived at the port on July 20.
Notably, 413 migrants undertook the perilous journey in seven small boats on Friday. This follows a tragic week where six people lost their lives in three separate incidents. In total, this year, authorities have intercepted and rescued 15,389 migrants who arrived in small boats.
In July alone, over 2,000 migrants have arrived in 34 boats, averaging around 59 people per dinghy. Sadly, a migrant's death early Friday morning brings this year's total number of fatalities to 22.
Shortly before 1:00 AM, French authorities initiated a rescue operation near the coast of Calais. Initially, passengers aboard an overcrowded vessel carrying 86 people declined assistance. However, after five individuals fell overboard at 5:58 AM, they called for help, and all five were recovered.
Tragically, French authorities reported one fatality. The 85 survivors of the ordeal were brought back to Calais and received medical attention from emergency services. The incident comes just days after a Tuesday night tragedy where one person drowned following a shipwreck of a vessel carrying 72 migrants.
In a first for the ongoing small boat crossings, a joint French-British operation rescued the remaining 71 migrants and returned them to Calais. This marked the first time a British Border Force vessel brought migrants back to France instead of the UK.
On July 12, four people drowned after their overcrowded vessel carrying 60 migrants deflated. A Home Office spokesperson wanted to end these dangerous small boat crossings, highlighting their threats to border security and human life.
Securing Borders: A Top Priority
"The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson emphasised that efforts to secure the nation's borders are underway, highlighting the recent launch of the recruitment process for a highly skilled Border Security Commander. "It is the first duty of any government to secure its borders," they added.
The Home Office website, under the 2015-2024 Conservative government, published a factsheet titled "Reducing Net Migration Factsheet – May 2024." This document acknowledges that the UK has seen significant immigration levels recently.
The factsheet highlights that over 95,000 individuals obtained immigration status in 2023 through various asylum programs. It attributes the recent increase to a rise in the number of students, care workers, and their dependents arriving in the UK.
A Home Office analysis from 2023 shows an 18 percent decrease in asylum decisions since December. The report also reveals a backlog that had grown to 172,758 by the end of March.
In light of these concerning reports, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on the government to revisit its controversial Illegal Migration Bill. He warns that the bill could leave tens of thousands of vulnerable people stranded and unsupported in the city.
