Britain has increased the number of maritime patrols, and beefed up security at French ports to counter the risk of illegal immigrants making it across the Channel. The French town of Calais is home to thousands of African immigrants desperately waiting to come to the UK.
There are fears that some of those waiting may have come from countries in West Africa that are now rife with Ebola. As previously reported on Breitbart London a makeshift isolation unit has been built at Calais Hospital to deal with any cases that arise.
Authorities in Calais have become frustrated with the situation, which has seen them inundated with illegal immigrants. Many of them live at the 1200-strong Jungle 2 camp, where appalling conditions have led to serious outbreaks of disease. The illegals are able to get to France because of the EU’s policy of having no security on borders between most of their countries. This means that Africans landing in Italy can easily make it all the way to Calais, but they cannot make it any further as the UK does not sign up to the open border policy.
The additional security has been ordered after the Deputy Mayor of Calais suggested putting all the immigrants on a ferry to the UK. Whilst the suggestion is not believed to have been a serious suggestion it has left British authorities jittery as it demonstrates just how desperate the problem has become.
The Home Office now believes there is a serious risk of illegal immigrants attempting sea crossings. The Channel is just 21-miles wide between Dover and Calais, and many of the immigrants have already made the much more dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy on the Mediterranean.
A Home Office spokesman told the Daily Express said: “It is not just physical security at the border itself that is being further improved to prevent migrants from attempting to enter the UK illegally. Border Force has also stepped up patrols off the UK’s coast by its fleet of cutters to prevent attempts to enter the UK illegally using small boats.”
He added: “Border Force’s fleet of cutters, supported by its dedicated surveillance aircraft, operates 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and can be deployed across the UK with 30 minutes’ notice to areas of greatest risk.”
The problem faced by both Britain and France is that many illegal immigrants entering Europe are determined to get to London because it is so multi-cultural. Almost every community in the world is represented in London, making it far easier to get illicit employment and housing than it would be elsewhere.
No matter what authorities do, the lure of London remains strong for huge numbers of people. The problem is exacerbated because anyone caught attempting to cross to Britain is simply returned to France without any punishment, meaning that illegal immigrants sleep all day in Calais and spend every night attempting to make it to the UK.
In July when the Channel Tunnel was closed, large numbers of illegal immigrants attempted to exploit the situation to get access to trucks bound for Britain. Drivers have to be very careful when they get to Calais that their parked vehicles are not accessed by illegal immigrants.
The drivers themselves use special seals on their trailers so they can see if anyone has attempted to climb inside, whilst the UK Border Force use Carbon Dioxide monitors that can determine if anyone is breathing inside.
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