Despite crackdowns, thousands of migrants still risk deadly Channel crossings to Britain

TOUGH POLICIES QUESTIONED

To strengthen border enforcement, the British government is paying France around US$900 million over three years to help patrol beaches, monitor smuggling operations and prevent boats from leaving French shores.

The UK and France have also been trialling a controversial “one-in, one-out” arrangement since last August.

Under the scheme, Britain can return migrants who entered illegally by boat to France, while accepting an equivalent number through legal migration routes.

But critics argue the policy has had little practical impact.

As of Apr 28, 605 people had been returned to France, while 581 others had entered the UK under the scheme.

“These are very low numbers if we compare them to the overall number of arrivals,” said Matilde Rosina, a lecturer in global challenges at Brunel University London.

“There have been some interviews with people who have been taken back to France who actually say that they would like to come back to the UK. So the goal of deterrence of the government looks to me to be failing at the moment.”

Rights groups have also raised concerns over how migrants are selected for deportation under the scheme.

Libby Kane, spokesperson for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said many detainees describe the process as confusing.

“People say that they consider the way they’ve been detained to be very arbitrary,” she added.

“They don’t really know why they were detained and not somebody else that they crossed the channel with.”

Experts say that despite tighter policing, harsher rhetoric and closer border cooperation, thousands are expected to continue attempting the crossing every month – driven by forces far stronger than the fear of being turned back.