Nearly 1,100 migrants successfully traversed the English Channel on a single Saturday, UK government figures indicate.
A Bumpy Crossing:
LONDON — Coming in waves, an astounding 1,194 migrants found British shores on Saturday, a record-breaking event for this year based on data from AFP and government records.
This brings the overall annual figure to a staggering 14,808, surpassing previous records despite efforts by both French and UK governments to curtail these passages.
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, French coast guards rescued close to 200 migrants, further highlighting the ongoing issue.
These latest arrivals, which Defense Secretary John Healey labeled "alarming," fell short of the record 1,300 migrants who crossed aboard small boats in a single day back in September 2022.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, under growing pressure to take a harder stance on unauthorized immigration due to far-right demands, must grapple with this surge in crossings.
The Home Office lamented the situation in a statement, expressing their continued commitment to ending dangerous small boat crossings that pose a threat to lives and jeopardize border security.
Starmer recently unveiled stringent immigration policies, including extending the period before immigrants can qualify for settlement in the country as well as new authority to remove foreign criminals.
These measures aim to regain voter support and stave off the increasing popularity of the hard-right Reform party.
A parliamentary bill addressing irregular immigration, known as the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, is currently being debated. However, Saturday’s crossings could serve as another setback.
Since records began in 2018, the year the Channel route gained notoriety, the total of 14,808 crossings marks the most for the first five months of any year. It even surpasses the record for the number of crossings in the first six months, which previously stood at around 12,900 in the first half of 2024.
Sounding the Alarm
Over the weekend, a total of 184 people were saved during four separate rescue operations off the French coast, according to a statement from France’s maritime prefecture for the Channel and northern regions.
In one instance, a boat’s engine faltered while carrying 61 people, and in another, a boat carrying nine people called for assistance.
Currently, 15 people have perished this year during attempts to cross the Channel, making it one of the busiest areas for shipping in the world.
"It's quite troubling, these incidents yesterday," Healey shared in an interview with Sky News on Sunday.
He explained that the smugglers were using "taxi services" to retrieve migrants and pointed to the UK’s loss of control over its borders.
France has agreed to allow police to intervene in shallow waters, but they cannot stop a boat once it's in motion.
"We've agreed with the French that they will adapt their methods," Healey said.
"Our focus now is to pressure them to implement these changes swiftly."
Healey also shared with the BBC that England now needs to work in closer cooperation with France to persuade them to carry out these policies.
As for France, they have plans for new patrol boats, changes in their intervention protocols, shared guidelines, and the deployment of a specialized enforcement team—the "compagnie de Marche"—to enhance their capabilities and prevent migrant crossings.
- The rise in migrant crossings, reaching a record 14,808 so far this year, has become a significant issue in British politics, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer under pressure to take a harder stance on unauthorized immigration.
- The Defense Secretary, John Healey, has labeled the increase in migrant crossings as alarming and has emphasized the need for closer cooperation between England and France to address the ongoing issue and regain control over the borders.
