40 Boat Migrants Brought Ashore After Trying To Cross English Channel

DOVER, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: An inflatable rib lies in the surf near Samphire Hoe on April 4
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

At least 40 migrants have been brought ashore after three boats were stopped trying to cross the English Channel by the UK Border Force early this morning.

Boats filled with illegal migrants attempted crossing the English Channel in dangerous weather conditions last night, before being intercepted by British and French patrol ships.

This latest incident in which at least 40 migrants were brought ashore, brings the number of migrants who have successfully reached British shores in 2019 to about 1,700, reports the Daily Mail.

“Border Force is currently dealing with ongoing small boat incidents off the Kent coast. Further details will be provided once the situation has been resolved,” a Home Office spokesman said.

The migrants were brought ashore in Dover, as per protocols set by the European Union, which the United Kingdom is still bound by. The illegal aliens will then be medically examined and processed before immigration officials make a determination as to whether they will be permitted to stay in the country.

In practice, almost all the illegals will be able to stay — in October, Breitbart London reported that only six per cent of the migrants who have reached British shores have been deported and returned to France this year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in August that migrants attempting to cross illegally should be returned to France.

“The UK should not be regarded as a place where you could automatically come and break the law by seeking to arrive illegally,” said the prime minister.

The spike in migrant boat crossings of the English Channel began in December of last year when five separate vessels carrying 40 migrants made the journey on Christmas day.

As opposed to entering the United Kingdom legally, the journey over the Channel many migrants take is dangerous. This was tragically demonstrated when an Iraqi man drowned over the summer while trying to swim from France to England.

A spokesman from the Home Office said at the time: “Anyone seeking to swim across the Channel or to cross this dangerous stretch of water in a small boat is taking a huge risk.”

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