English Channel

LONDON (AP) — British border officials rescued more than 30 people Friday, who were attempting to cross the English Channel in three small inflatable boats and a kayak.

Dozens of illegal migrants crossed the English Channel in boats over the weekend, the great majority landing undetected.

The Belgian police are investing around 80,000 euros into a new project using drones to track the movements of illegal migrants along the coastal region.

A 47-year-old Iraqi man had to be rescued this week after attempting to swim across the English channel to illegally sneak into the UK.

Over forty illegal migrants landed in England after taking to sea in boats over the weekend, according to reports.

More boat migrants have been intercepted in the English Channel in the first six months of 2019 than in the whole of last year.

The number of boats transporting illegal migrants to Britain appears to have hit a daily record, with HM Coastguard reporting it has assisted with 13 “incidents” off the Kent coast and a dinghy sighted off East Sussex. 

Illegal migrants are continuing to pour across the English Channel in small boats, with hundreds being brought to shore by the authorities even after being intercepted.

An imam working in the French city of Rouen was arrested along with another individual on suspicion of aiding the illegal migration of individuals across the English Channel.

The French government, in cooperation with the UK, has launched a number of airborne drones to monitor potential illegal immigration in the English Channel.

Dozens of migrants stormed a ferry in Calais, France, in a bid to break into Britain on Saturday night, in what police called a “co-ordinated attack” on the French docks.

A National Crime Agency (NCA) chief has said that Iranian boat migrants are keen to be picked up by UK authorities after crossing the English Channel because they know there is a low chance of them being deported.

Britain needs to take urgent action over the Channel migrant crisis, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has been told, as three more vessels carrying illegal immigrants arrived on UK shores Sunday.

Criminal people-traffickers are telling would-be illegal migrants they are almost guaranteed residency in Britain because the authorities “never send people back”, an investigation has revealed.

Police and immigration officials have caught three illegal migrants after launching a search for an estimated six intruders following the discovery of an empty dinghy on the English coast.

The possibilities for business growth arising from a no deal Brexit are already manifesting after a ferry company began dredging Ramsgate habour to take over thousands of lorry shipments from Dover to Europe.

British officials say two men have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling migrants from France to England by sea.

The British Home Secretary Sajid Javid has invited the anger of pro-migration activists by suggesting boat migrants coming across the English Channel are not genuine refugees, because they are already in a safe country before coming to the UK. 

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has buckled to political pressure and will send more border force cutters to the English Channel, despite critics warning the boats will act as “magnets” to illegal aliens and increase the number of crossings.

LONDON (AP) – Police picked up a group of 12 migrants found on a beach in southwestern England as top British officials met Monday to discuss the increasing numbers of people attempting to cross the English Channel from France to England.

Britain’s former director-general of Immigration Enforcement has warned illegal migrants are using Border Force and lifeboat volunteers as a “taxi service”.

Asserting that “every person is precious”, the Church of England has urged Britain to welcome the boatloads of illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

Brexit campaign leader Nigel Farage has demanded the Government “stands up to the EU and to France” to bring the Channel migrant crisis under control

The UK’s Home Secretary has declared the illegal crossings across the English Channel from France a “major incident” after a sharp rise in boat migrants, mainly Iranian citizens, landing on Kent’s shores.

Illegal migrants appear to have boarded and forced the bridges of a number of French fishing vessels in an attempt to reach the British coast. 

Yet another boatload of illegal migrants has landed on the English coast, as the MP for Dover urges the authorities to “get a grip” of the situation.

Forty migrants were picked up in the English Channel in five separate incidents on Christmas day, believed to be the highest number of illegals and boats intercepted in one day. The first vessel was spotted at 2:40am local time after

A government source has warned that prospective plans to increase the number of border force patrol boats in the English Channel will encourage illegal migration.

Eighteen more suspected illegal migrants have attempted to cross the English Channel from France in small boats overnight, prompting calls to return them to France to disincentivise further crossings.

A group of a dozen migrants were arrested Monday night after stealing a fishing boat from the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and managing to reach the UK coast.