Channel: sad record with 430 migrants who tried to reach the United Kingdom in one day

A gloomy one-day record.

At least 430 migrants crossed the Channel on Monday to reach the UK, according to the UK Home Office.

A 24-hour record that comes as Parliament examines plans to toughen Britain's asylum system.

The previous daily record stood at 416, reached in September 2020, according to UK news agency PA.

According to the BBC, nearly 8,000 people from around 345 boats have reached the English coast since the start of the year, despite the British government's promise to make this immigration route impassable.

According to Commander Dan O'Mahoney, in charge of the “illegal threat” in the Channel, the United Kingdom is experiencing “an unacceptable increase in Channel crossings by small boats due to an increase in illegal immigration in Europe ”.

“People should seek asylum in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives making these dangerous crossings.

We continue to prosecute the criminals at the origin of these illegal crossings, ”he continued, quoted in a press release from the Ministry of the Interior.

A hardening of the asylum system in the United Kingdom

This Tuesday again, a group of 13 migrants crammed into an inflatable boat was filmed live crossing the Channel by the British channel Good Morning England.

This canoe, initially designed for 6 people, crossed the waters while the British border forces, busy managing other incidents, were unable to intervene immediately, the channel noted.

We are observing this migrant boat & making sure its passengers don't get into difficulty.

Border Force have not arrived yet as they are busy dealing with other incidents.

We will follow until they arrive.

@gmb #Dover pic.twitter.com/udnzSxkcpD

- Pip Tomson (@PipTomson) July 20, 2021

The new record for crossings comes as British MPs this week examine Boris Johnson's Home Secretary Priti Patel's bill on reform of the asylum system. Presented by the minister as "fair but firm" but denounced by associations for the defense of human rights, it aims to discourage illegal immigration and plans to treat asylum seekers differently depending on whether they have arrived in the country legally or illegally.

During debates in the House of Commons on Monday, former Prime Minister Theresa May, also a former Home Secretary, warned against the idea of ​​sending asylum seekers to centers outside the Kingdom - Not long enough for their request to be examined.

She indicated that she had considered this option, before giving it up because of "practical problems".

The bill plans to increase to four years, from six months currently, the prison sentence incurred by migrants seeking to return illegally to the country and to carry to life imprisonment - from 14 years of imprisonment currently - the maximum incurred by smugglers.