English Channel Crisis: Over 4,500 Illegal Boat Migrants Land This Year

Migrants wearing life jackets sit in a dinghy as they illegally cross the English Channel
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The crisis in the English Channel has seen over 4,500 illegal boat migrants land on British shores since the start of the year, as another 80 landed on Monday.

Amid clearer weather conditions, people smuggling gangs once again began setting migrants off in small boats from the beaches of France. Following two weeks of cessation of illegal boat migration, British border authorities took two boats ashore with around 80 on board.

So far this year, at least 4,550 migrants have crossed the Channel illegally, the Daily Mail reported. This figure is over half the total for 2020 when 8,140 arrived during the whole year. The migration crisis has only continued to grow, however, with a record 28,526 illegals making the journey last year.

Last month saw over 3,000 illegals land on British shores, the highest monthly total since November of last year when 6,869 were recorded landing.

The government has been warned that as many as 65,000 migrants could cross the English Channel this year, yet Brexit leader Nigel Farage has said that it could be as high as 80,000.

This would be in addition to other forms of illegal migration, such as overstayed visas, being transported on lorries, or being flown into the country and landing on small airfields.

In order to deter the growing problem, the government is reportedly considering plans to house alleged asylum seekers in a third country, such as Rwanda, yet no plan has been put into place as of yet.

The government has also tasked the Royal Navy with coordinating the migrant operations in the English Channel, however, the force has so far refused to conduct any pushback of migrant boats back to France.

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