In a record-breaking event, the UK Home Office announced that 290 people arrived in small boats in a single day, bringing the total migrant Channel crossings in the country to over 2000 this year. The sudden surge follows a warning from Border Force officials about an expected increase in arrivals.
The unprecedented number of arrivals on February 25 marked the highest single-day figure since January 17, as reported by The Evening Standard. The migrants arrived in five boats, with an estimated average of 58 people per vessel, according to figures released on Monday.
Last year, 29,437 migrants made the crossing, with the total rising to 45,774 in 2022, making it the second-highest number since 2018. The issue of migrants arriving in small boats has become a significant political concern in the UK, with more than 45,000 migrants crossing the English Channel in 2022 alone.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has made “stopping the boats” a top priority, but acknowledges that solving the problem is not easy. In an attempt to address the situation, the government reached an agreement with Rwanda to send migrants to the African country.
However, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed concerns about the UK’s actions, stating that facilitating the removal of asylum-seekers to Rwanda goes against fundamental principles of the rule of law and poses a serious risk to human rights. The situation continues to raise questions about the UK’s approach to handling migrant arrivals and asylum-seekers.
