More than 600 people tried to cross the canal yesterday. They tried to emigrate from France to the UK in boats. This is a new daily record, official sources told the British news agency on Monday.
British authorities counted 614 migrants who crossed the Channel into the UK in small boats on Sunday. The previous day recorded dates from the end of April, when nearly 500 people crossed (497 to be exact).
The total for this year is already around 8,400, Sky News reports based on preliminary numbers. The British news channel reported that their number exceeded ten thousand people in the same period last year. According to official statistics, 45,755 migrants crossed the canal in 2022, an increase of 60 percent compared to 2021. More than half of them arrived in August, September and October.
priority
The British government is trying by all possible means to deter immigrants from immigrating to their country. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made curbing boat migration a priority. Last week, Sunak said his plans were working, with fewer people taking transit in the first five months of 2023 than in the same period last year.
British elections
The British media predicts that immigration will also be one of the main topics in next year’s national elections. Therefore, Sunak is under great political pressure to show successes in this field. He has presented “curbing the boats” as one of his top five personal priorities, along with tackling inflation and waiting lists in healthcare.
The Prime Minister’s Conservative Party has been in power in the UK since 2010. Successive governments have pledged to reduce immigration rates. Immigration was also a reason for many Britons to vote for Brexit. Sunak had to admit at the end of May that he was still not satisfied. “The numbers are so high, it’s that simple,” he told ITV at the time. “I want to disappoint them even more.”
European Migration Convention
Meanwhile, the 27 European immigration ministers reached an agreement on migration last week after years of negotiations. Tougher procedures will be introduced at the EU’s external borders and asylum seekers will be spread out across the Union. What exactly does the agreement mean for our country? Will fewer asylum seekers come to the EU this way? Is this agreement really final? You can read all about it in this additional article.
See also. European Union member states reach agreement on new asylum and migration policies
See also. The ‘historic’ EU migration agreement: is it workable?
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