A video was filmed in California that is supposed to show the arrival of migrants

A social media post from September 30th about Migrant arrivals in the UK revealed that 59 had arrived the previous day. The user added that almost 11,500 “illegal trespassers” had arrived since the UK general election, adding a video showing a group running away from a boat on the shore.

Evaluation

Although the statistics cited in the post are consistent with Interior Department data on small boat crossings in the English Channel, the accompanying video was shot in San Diego, California, USA.

The facts

The post describes the incident as “yesterday,” but the accompanying video itself is older and has clearly audible American accents.

A reverse image search on a screenshot of the video shows that on September 28, another social media user posted the same video, this time with a TikTok watermark, claiming it showed illegal immigrants on a beach in Spain.

Tracing the name of this watermark shows that the video appears to have originally been posted on TikTok and a user's Instagram story with the same handle.

The Instagram story is labeled “San Diego 2.0” and the post's HTML code suggests it was uploaded on the afternoon of September 27th (Pacific Daylight Time).

Another repost of the video – found through reverse image search – was edited along with a second video. The likely original source for this additional footage was found in another reverse image search.

This second video, posted around the same time as the first, on Rescue, the local government agency that operates lifeguard services in the California city.

Other reposts of the video not only explain the American accents in the first clip, but also claim that it was filmed in San Diego.

The PA news agency examined the coastline around the Ocean Beach area and found the videos were filmed on the beach on Santa Cruz Avenue. The buildings seen on site on Google Street View match those in the second video. Photos of the beach uploaded by Google Maps users also match the first video.

The Home Office publishes a daily count of irregular migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Available data for September 29 shows that 59 people crossed in a boat.

Taking the Home Office's full data set on border crossings and adding those 59 together, a total of 11,670 migrants have crossed the English Channel since July 5, the day after the general election.

Left

Original post on X (archived post and video)

Reverse image search

Claim about Spain on X (archived post and video)

Original video on TikTok (archived post and video)

Original video on Instagram Stories (login required, archived)

Second reverse image search

A group of nearly a dozen illegal immigrants landed on a beach in San Diego… – @unicornrealm_/Instagram (archived post and video)

Third reverse image search

Second video about X (archived post and video)

About Lifeguard Services | Official City of San Diego website (archived)

Woman captures illegal migrant landing in San Diego during daytime amid border security debate – YouTube (archived)

Google Maps (archived)

Google Street View (archived)

Google Maps photo 1 (archived)

Google Maps photo 2 (archived)

Small boat arrivals – last 7 days – GOV.UK (archived)

Small boat activity in the English Channel – GOV.UK (archived)

Migrants discovered crossing the English Channel in small boats – time series (archived)