On Wednesday, August 6th, the UK government detained the first group of illegal migrants under a new returns agreement with France. A UK Border Force vessel brought the arrivals into the Port of Dover, where they were taken directly to immigration removal centers to be held before being returned to France.
According to the BBC, 155 migrants crossed the Channel on Wednesday, but the Home Office declined to reveal how many of them were being held.
Under the new scheme, the UK will refer small boat arrivals for return to France within three days, with France having 14 days to respond. In exchange, approved asylum seekers in France can apply to come to the UK, subject to eligibility, security checks, and the standard visa process. If accepted, they will have three months in the UK to claim asylum or apply for a visa—without access to work, study, or benefits during that time.
About 50 people per week are expected to be returned to France under the 11-month pilot program, with numbers anticipated to increase.
“We have detained the first illegal migrants under our new deal before returning them to France,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back. When I say I will stop at nothing to secure our borders, I mean it.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the deal a “ground-breaking new treaty” and claimed it “would send a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.”
Meanwhile, controversy continues over the government’s willingness and ability—or lack thereof—to stem the flow of immigration. Despite the deal with France, hundreds of immigrants continue arriving in the UK on boats, challenging the effectiveness of the government’s policies.
Starmer keeps talking tough on tackling migration, including a promise to crack down on people smugglers “once and for all.” The latest effort to that effect was last week’s announced plans that would see those who advertise channel crossings or fake passports on social media face up to five years in prison. An Oxford University expert said the measure would only mean going after “very small players” that could “easily be replaced.”
So far this year, small boat crossings have reached a record 25,000, higher than ever recorded at this point in the calendar year. The number of immigrants expected to be returned to France by the end of the year is around 800.
Meanwhile, Britons are demonstrating outside migrant hotels and taking to the streets across the country, chanting, “We want our country back.”
Reflecting public sentiment, Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, remarked: “The public’s patience with the asylum hotels and with the whole issue of illegal migration has snapped.”
