In 2023, nearly 30,000 migrants made the perilous journey across the English Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats, marking a yearly decrease of more than a third, according to government figures released on Monday.
However, the unauthorized arrival of 29,437 individuals on the southeast English coast still represents the second-largest yearly total since officials began publishing these numbers in 2018.
These perilous journeys across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes have posed a political challenge for Britain’s Conservative government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledging last year to “stop the boats.”
Reducing persistently high numbers of migrant arrivals was one of the five key pledges made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for 2023, and fulfilling this promise may present challenges as he prepares for a general election later this year.
Sunak mentioned last month that there was no “firm date” for meeting this particular pledge.
In response to the recently released statistics on Monday, the Downing Street office highlighted a 36-percent reduction in small-boat arrivals last year, following a record of 45,000 migrants making the journey in 2022.
The government credited “robust action,” which included a collaboration agreement of £480 million ($610 million) with France targeting “small boat gangs.” Additionally, fast-track migrant return deals with countries like Albania contributed to over 24,000 deportations and 246 arrests for people smuggling in 2023, according to Downing Street.
The government also highlighted the clearance of a “legacy” backlog of 112,000 asylum applications made before June 28, 2022, resulting in a reduction in the number of hotel rooms being used to accommodate potential refugees.
Critics have accused the government of making rushed decisions on applications, anticipating that many cases will eventually be decided on appeal.
Rishi Sunak stated, “I am determined to end the burden of illegal migration on the British people,” emphasizing actions taken to prevent illegal arrivals, return hotels to local communities, and discourage illegal immigration.
However, the main opposition Labour party contends that Sunak has failed to fulfill his promise, and his immigration policy is in disarray.
The Conservative government aimed to discourage Channel crossings by preventing migrants arriving without prior authorization from applying for asylum and considering sending some to Rwanda. However, the Rwanda policy is stalled after the UK Supreme Court ruled that deporting migrants to the East African country violated international law.
The perilous journeys on small inflatable vessels across the Channel, often overloaded and unseaworthy, have tragically resulted in multiple fatalities.
In November 2021, at least 27 people drowned when their dinghy capsized.
The UK government faces pressure to reduce the higher level of immigration via pre-authorized arrivals, with the number in the year to June 2023 estimated to be 672,000 more than those who left.
These figures contradict the Tories’ pledges, in power since 2010, to reduce overall migration to Britain after Brexit. Various measures have been announced in the last year to lower the annual tally by 300,000, including preventing almost all international students from bringing family members.
These new rules came into force on Monday, aiming to contribute to the overall strategy of preventing 300,000 people from coming to the UK.
