Over 500 migrants cross channel again, pressure mounts under Labour Party

[JACK AYLMER]

SINCE THE LABOUR PARTY TOOK POWER IN THE UK — MORE THAN 6-THOUSAND MIGRANTS HAVE CROSSED THE ENGLISH CHANNEL IN SMALL BOATS — BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRIVALS THIS YEAR TO OVER 20-THOUSAND. THIS SURGE IS ADDING PRESSURE TO AN ALREADY STRAINED ASYLUM SYSTEM — WITH THE UK GOVERNMENT NOW FACING AN ESTIMATED $5 BILLION IN ASYLUM COSTS FOR THE YEAR.

FIGURES SHOW THAT 526 MIGRANTS ARRIVED IN THE UK FROM NORTHERN FRANCE ON TUESDAY. AN ADDITIONAL 613 MIGRANTS ARE ALSO BELIEVED TO HAVE CROSSED THE CHANNEL WEDNESDAY.

AMID THE DEBATE OVER MIGRANT ARRIVALS — MISINFORMATION HAS ALSO INFLUENCED PUBLIC PERCEPTION. A CLAIM BY A G-B NEWS ANCHOR SUGGESTED THAT A TOWN THE SIZE OF WINDSOR ARRIVES IN THE UK BY SMALL BOAT EVERY FEW MONTHS. HOWEVER — A REUTERS FACT-CHECK DEBUNKED THIS — REVEALING THAT ONLY AROUND 93-HUNDRED MIGRANTS ARRIVED BETWEEN MAY AND JULY 2024 — FAR FEWER THAN THE EXAGGERATED FIGURE OF 30-THOUSAND.

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANNEL CROSSINGS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR THE UK GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE MIGRANT CRISIS ESCALATED IN 2018. ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS ARRIVING BY SMALL BOAT IN 2024 IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN IN 2023, IT REMAINS LOWER THAN IN 2022.

GOVERNMENT DATA SHOWS A STEADY FLOW OF MIGRANTS. AN AVERAGE OF 24-HUNDRED MIGRANTS ARRIVED IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2024 AND NEARLY 3-THOUSAND ARRIVED IN AUGUST ALONE. WHILE THESE NUMBERS ARE LOWER THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THEY CONTINUE TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE UK’S ASYLUM SYSTEM.

THIS INFLUX HAS LED TO SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL AND POLICY DEBATES. THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT — WHICH TOOK POWER IN JULY — FACES CRITICISM FOR ITS HANDLING OF THE CRISIS.

SINCE TAKING OFFICE, PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER’S ADMINISTRATION HAS SEEN nearly 7-thousand MIGRANT ARRIVALS, PUTTING INCREASING PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNMENT TO FIND EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS. IN RESPONSE, THE GOVERNMENT SCRAPPED THE PREVIOUS RWANDA DEPORTATION SCHEME AND PROPOSED A NEW BORDER SECURITY COMMAND AIMED AT REDUCING DANGEROUS CROSSINGS.

THE UK HOME OFFICE HAS EXPRESSED CONCERNS THAT THESE CROSSINGS ARE UNDERMINING BORDER SECURITY AND PUTTING LIVES AT RISK. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW FOCUSED ON DISMANTLING THE SMUGGLING NETWORKS RESPONSIBLE AS IT SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN THE COUNTRY’S BORDER SECURITY.

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