Never before have so many migrants – mainly Albanians, Iranians and Afghans – made the dangerous crossing. This is about a total of 45,756 immigrants, which was 28,526 in 2021, which was already a record. The ever-increasing figures put pressure on the British government. After Brexit, the fight against immigration is one of the Conservatives’ priorities. But the asylum application process is overburdened.
Successive governments in London have already launched all sorts of ideas and measures, such as artificial waves to drive migrant boats out of British waters or sending migrants to remote islands. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck a deal with Rwanda to airlift asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies in the UK to the African country.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently called the wave of migrants an “invasion”. The United Nations called the report “appalling”.
London has signed cooperation agreements with France and Albania in recent months to strengthen controls there.
Most crossings are made in the summer, with a daily record of 1,295 migrants in the 24 hours on 22 August, but they continued into the winter months, with 1,745 migrants arriving in the UK in December.
Small boat crossings have exploded since 2018, with the increasing number of tunnels under the canal on the port of Calais and on the French side.
