At least 430 migrants crossed the English Channel on their way to the UK yesterday. This is shown by data from the British Ministry of Interior, setting a new 24-hour record, while the parliament is studying a project for stricter measures in the asylum system implemented by London, AFP reported.
The previous daily record, from September 2020, amounted to 416 migrants, reminds the British news agency Press Association.
According to the BBC, nearly 8,000 people with about 345 ships have moored off the coast of England since the beginning of the year, despite promises by the British government to render the migration route unusable and calls on France to step up the fight against these voyages.
According to Major Dan O’Mahoney, who is leading the fight against the “illegal threat” in the English Channel, there is an “unacceptable increase in crossings of the strait by small ships due to the increase in illegal immigration in Europe”.
“People should seek refuge in the first safe country where they arrive and not risk their lives with these dangerous voyages across the English Channel. We continue to prosecute the criminals behind these illegal trips,” he was quoted as saying in a communiqué. the interior ministry.
Meanwhile, British lawmakers are examining Interior Minister Priti Patel’s bill this week to reform the asylum system.
Presented by her as “fair but strict” but criticized by human rights organizations, the reform aims to discourage illegal immigration and provides for asylum seekers to be treated differently depending on whether they arrived in the country legally or not.
During debates in the lower house, Theresa May, a former prime minister and former interior minister, spoke negatively about the idea of sending asylum seekers to centers outside the kingdom while their applications are being considered.
The bill envisions an increase from six months to four years in prison for the maximum sentence for migrants who choose to enter the country illegally, and life imprisonment – the maximum sentence for traffickers, now at 14 years.
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