More than 10,000 migrants have attempted to illegally cross the English Channel into the UK since the start of the year

More than 10,000 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel on small boats since the start of the year, according to figures published on Sunday June 18 by the British Home Office, which is fighting tirelessly against these illegal crossings.

Seven boats carrying 374 people reached the British coast on Saturday alone, according to the daily report published by the government, bringing to 10,139 the total of migrants arriving by this dangerous route since the beginning of the year.

However, this figure remains lower than that observed at the same time last year. After several weeks of unfavorable weather conditions, however, crossings have picked up significantly in recent days, due to the milder weather, with more than 2,500 people arriving on the British coast between June 10 and 17. Over the whole of 2022, more than 45,000 crossings had been recorded.

Hardening of its policy

The fight against illegal immigration is one of the priorities of the majority, conservative, in power, which has struggled so far to discourage candidates, despite a toughening of its policy.

Last year, the government passed a law – so far blocked by the courts – to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. And a new bill criticized until the UN plans to prevent migrants arriving by the English Channel from seeking asylum.

London has also signed several agreements with other countries, including France and Albania, to better fight against this illegal immigration.