In the last 3 months of 2018, there was an uptick of illegal migrants attempting to make a dangerous Journey from France to England using small boats.
As reported by Sky News. The government has declared a “major incident” in the Channel following an uptick in the number of migrants attempting to reach the UK on small boats.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has described the increase as a “very serious concern”.
He went on to add “you’re coming from France, which is a safe country, you’re coming to the UK in almost every case you are claiming asylum in the U.K. but if you were a real genuine asylum-seeker then you could have done that in another safe country. A question has to be asked, if you are a genuine asylum-seeker, why have you not sought asylum in the first safe country that you arrived in. France is not a country that anyone would argue is not safe in any way whatsoever, if you are genuine, then why not seek asylum there in your first safe country.”
Secretary Javid has brought back two patrol vessels from overseas as part of efforts to stem the number of attempted crossings.
Out of the 539 migrants, 227 were intercepted by the French before they made it to the UK in December of 2018.
50,932 – The number of illegal border crossings through the eastern Mediterranean route between January and November 2018
22,762 – The number of illegal border crossings through the central Mediterranean route between January and November 2018
(Migrants are not just people fleeing war-torn countries, but people who enter other countries illegally for better financial opportunities.)
