Britain steps up fight against migrant crossings

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The British government announced new measures on Wednesday to tackle the large number of illegal asylum seekers arriving from France on small boats.

It said 100 “new intelligence and investigation specialists” would be hired by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to help dismantle the smuggling gangs operating the dangerous border crossings.

The Home Office added that the government aims to achieve the highest deportation rate of rejected asylum seekers in five years over the next six months.

The Labour government, which won an election last month, intends to increase the capacity of detention centres and punish employers who hire people who have no right to work in Britain, the Home Office said.

“We are taking strong and clear steps to strengthen our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

The ban on small boats was a central issue in the July 4 election, in which Labour won an overwhelming majority.

A few days after taking power, Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the controversial plan to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, a flagship project of the last Conservative government.

Instead, Starmer has promised to break up the smuggling gangs that organize border crossings and collect thousands of euros from each migrant.

The Interior Ministry is hiring a so-called Border Security Commander to work with European countries against human smuggling gangs.

Starmer has also promised French President Emmanuel Macron greater “cooperation” in tackling the rising number of illegal immigrants.

More than 200 people crossed the canal in three boats on Monday, bringing the provisional total for this year to 19,294, according to the Interior Ministry.

This is an increase of 10 percent from the 17,620 recorded last year, but a decrease from the 21,344 border crossings recorded in the same period in 2022.

The Home Office said the NCA is currently conducting around 70 investigations into criminal networks involved in human trafficking.

It said the government would impose fines, business closures and possibly criminal proceedings against anyone employing illegal workers.

The ministry also announced that it would expand two deportation centers by 290 beds and redistribute staff to deport rejected asylum seekers at the highest rate since 2018. The ministry did not provide figures on the people affected.

pdh/aks/tw