Another 100 migrants, including women and children, beat the asylum ban deadline to reach Dover after being caught crossing the Channel in small boats.
- The migrants were brought ashore in two Border Force vessels.
- They arrived in port at the Port of Dover in Kent on Friday morning.
Dozens of migrants were intercepted by the Border Force crossing the English Channel in small boats today, the largest group since the government unveiled its controversial Illegal Migration Bill last week.
At least 100 people, including women and children, were brought ashore in two Border Force vessels in the Kent port of Dover on Friday morning.
Most were brought in on a large Volunteer catamaran, while a smaller group could be seen aboard the Defender.
They were escorted down the gangway into the immigration processing center in the old jetfoil terminal inside the docks complex.
It comes after 51 people were brought to the port in the early afternoon of last Saturday.
At least 100 people, including women and children, were brought ashore in two Border Force vessels in the Kent port of Dover on Friday morning.
The migrants were escorted down the gangway at the immigration processing center in the old jetfoil terminal inside the dock complex.
Most of the migrants were brought in on a large Volunteer catamaran, while a smaller group could be seen aboard the Defender.
It brings the total figure for 2023 to 3,198 immigrants arriving on 74 boats, an average of 43 immigrants on each boat.
The arrivals were the first since it was announced that Channel migrants will be banned for life from entering Britain under proposed laws.
The tough new measures will see any asylum seeker who arrives illegally on a small boat indefinitely barred from re-entering the country.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who introduced the new laws last week, said: “The only route to the UK will be a safe and legal route.”
Although the migrants arrived after the bill was introduced, they will continue to be processed as normal, according to the Home Office.
The new laws are also expected to further prevent migrants from using human rights laws to avoid removal from Britain.
Saturday’s arrivals are the first to arrive in the UK since March 6, when 197 people made the treacherous journey on a boat.
Strong winds had prevented crossings ever since.
A total of 45,728 people made the treacherous journey across the 21-mile Strait of Dover on 1,104 ships last year, up from 28,526 in 2021.
The busiest day was August 22 of last year, when 1,295 migrants crossed the Canal in rubber boats or other small craft in a 24-hour period.
And officials have predicted that the number of people crossing the Canal in small boats could double this year, potentially reaching 80,000.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives making these dangerous crossings is putting unprecedented pressure on our asylum system.”
“Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our new Small Vessel Operational Command, bolstered by hundreds of additional personnel, is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt people smugglers.
“We are also going further by introducing legislation that will ensure that people arriving in the UK illegally are stopped and quickly transferred to another country.”
