Escape across the English Channel: Officials report peak levels

British officials yesterday counted the highest number of refugees crossing the English Channel to date. 872 people reached the shore on Saturday in small boats.

More migrants crossed the English Channel to Great Britain yesterday in small boats than ever before in a single day this year. A total of 872 people reached the beach irregularly on Saturday, British news agency PA reported, citing government data. The previous daily record was 756 on August 10.

Fewer refugees than there are Previous year period

In August, 5,369 migrants arrived, more than ever in a single month since registrations began in 2018. In total, almost 21,000 people have arrived in Great Britain this year on this dangerous route. This is less than the same period last year.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently held this up as proof of the effectiveness of tougher immigration laws: falling immigration numbers show his plan to deter immigrants with tougher laws is working. However, experts point out that the weather in the English Channel was worse this year, so fewer people risked the dangerous crossing from France.

Strict laws will not make a difference

An important argument in favor of Brexit is that Great Britain will be able to more closely control those coming into the country. Since then, irregular migration has increased significantly. The conservative British government now relies on deterrence. Sunak announced that he was “stopping the boats”. Anyone who enters Great Britain “illegally” should be jailed and deported as soon as possible – regardless of the circumstances and with no chance of asylum in Great Britain.

Critics talk about the asylum ban. Sacha Deshmukh, head of Amnesty International’s UK division, recently said the continued high numbers: “This is another reminder that the government’s failed immigration policies are not stopping people from making the perilous journeys to seek asylum.”