Over 1,000 Boat Migrants Land in Britain This Month, FIVE Times More Than Last Year

Migrants react onboard UK Border Force vessel HMC Speedwell after being picked up at sea,
BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The number of illegal migrants who have crossed the English Channel has hit an all-time high for the month of January, with five times as many making the journey so far this month compared to last year.

On Monday, another 67 boat migrants in two boats were brought ashore by British authorities according to Home Office data supplied to Breitbart London. An additional 100 aliens were prevented from making the crossing by French authorities. This comes as 87 were logged reaching Britain from France on Sunday.

According to an analysis conducted by BBC reporter Simon Jones, the latest crossings take the total number for the month of January to 1,119, more than five times recorded during the entire month in 2021 when 223 landed on English soil.

For further context, the Daily Mail reported that it was not until March of last year for the 1,000 crossing threshold to be reached. Dozens more migrants have landed in the morning hours of Tuesday according to the paper, however, the Home Office has yet to release official numbers for the day.

Last year, a record 28,400 illegals were recorded reaching British shores, more than three times as many that had reached the country in the previous year.

The government has been warned that as many as 65,000 could land this year, however, some, including Brexit’s Nigel Farage have warned it could reach 80,000. However, if the current pace continues at the same rate, it is conceivable that upwards of 140,000 could reach the UK via the English Channel from France.

The English Channel, which is one of the world’s busiest waterways, can be particularly treacherous for migrants during the winter months for migrants to cross in the often unseaworthy small rubber dinghies provided to them by the vicious people-smugglers operating in the Calais region.

Already this month, at least one migrant has drowned in the Channel while trying to make the journey. In November, 27 migrants tragically drowned off the coast of France after their boat capsised.

Despite outrage on both sides over the needless loss of life, France and the UK have yet to come to an agreement on the migrant crisis or indeed on migrant returns.

It has been suggested that no deal will be forthcoming until after the French presidential election in April, with Emmanuel Macron unlikely to want to appear to give in to British demands and appear weak in front of the French electorate.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is also facing his own share of political difficulties over a slew of apparent breaches of lockdown measures, has tried to take a harder line on migration, in a move largely seen as an attempt to sure up the more conservative elements of the Tory Party.

One such move has been the announcement that the Royal Navy will be brought in to oversee the migrant situation. Yet, the navy has reportedly shut down any notion of turning migrant boats back to France. Brexit champion Nigel Farage told Breitbart London last week that the navy will become just another “expensive taxi service” like the Border Force.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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