In the United Kingdom, the fight against immigration, particularly illegal immigration, is one of the government’s priorities. A figure serves as an indicator: the number of Channel crossings and it is down sharply compared to 2022. Immigration promises to be a central subject in the campaign for the legislative elections scheduled for this year.
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From our correspondent in London,
This still remains an estimate, but in 2023, the number of Channel crossings and arrivals of illegal boats has fallen. Last year, there were a third fewer crossings. Just over 29,000 people arrived on English shores illegally in 2023.
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In 2022, there were nearly 46,000. A sharp drop which suits the government, which has promised to reduce immigration, all immigration. Even if these figures are preliminary, they will only be revised marginally: proof, for the executive, that its anti-illegal strategy and policies are working.
The British government is relying on deterrence. Its strategy is based on two main axes. First, accommodation. Once an irregular migrant seeks asylum in the UK, they enter the system in a certain way, and the state accommodates them, usually in hotels. For several months, the government has requisitioned military buildings, barracks and especially a barge to house asylum seekers in living conditions denounced by human rights organizations.
Another axis, which has not yet been put in place: for two years, London has been working with Rwanda to relocate the asylum application system there. Ultimately, the objective is that no one will be eligible on British soil. For the moment, the project is being examined by Parliament. With the same intention: to send the message to migrants that it is not worth crossing the Channel, since they will never receive asylum there.
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It is difficult to establish a link between these policies and the decline in the number of crossings. But in any case, other factors can explain this fall: the main one, the weather. The weather was not particularly good in 2023. Many windy or rainy days, and therefore not conducive to taking to the sea aboard an inflatable.
For’Immigration Services Unionthe union of customs and immigration staff, 2023 represents a statistical anomaly, as sometimes happens – the ISU also points out that the Ministry of the Interior itself expected double the number of arrivals , and that the levels still remain higher than 2021. This new year, where the elections should partly be decided on immigration, could well record a new record.
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