Illegal immigration: fatal crossings follow one another in the United Kingdom

In recent times, the United Kingdom has become the main target of migratory flows. In 2022, 45,756 people were able to illegally cross the English Channel, one of the busiest maritime crossings in the world, compared to 28,526 in 2021. A worrying figure that upsets the British government, and pushes it to intensify efforts to fight once morest this scourge. sensitive. Reaching Great Britain from the port of Calais, or through the Channel Tunnel, is the dream of many migrants in search of the British El Dorado.

Despite the danger of this dark zone for border controls, this passage attracts more and more illegal immigrants from underdeveloped countries. For them, the United Kingdom is the right place for exile or for easily finding work even when you are undocumented. Except that, recently, the rules have changed a lot. Since the adoption of Brexit, the new policy of the British government tends to restrict the rights of migrants in an illegal situation. The new measures have also become stricter and provide for heavy sanctions once morest employers who hire illegal workers.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who met during COP27 in Egypt, raised the subject of illegal immigration for the first time, showing their common desire to solve this problem. Paris and London are thinking of concretizing their agreements to cooperate in the fight once morest this phenomenon which is becoming more and more complex.

Thus, London this year concluded an agreement, criticized by the UN, by the Anglican Church and by many organizations, with Rwanda, to send migrants who arrived illegally there, whatever their origin, without waiting for the examination of their asylum application. Another agreement has been signed with Albania, a country which accounts for a third of migrants arriving in small boats across the English Channel. This agreement provides for the accelerated processing of asylum applications and the mass expulsion of people whose applications have been rejected.

Sami Nemli with agencies / Les Inspirations ECO