Dozens of Illegal Boat Migrants Brought Ashore over Weekend

Dozens of illegal migrants successfully reached the shores of Britain over the weekend, being brought to Dover by the Border Force after four “incidents” of migrant boats being intercepted within three days.

Border Force stopped five boats in the English Channel over the weekend, carrying 74 illegal immigrants. On Sunday night alone, 31 people in two small boats — 25 men, three women, and three minors — were stopped at sea, marking the fourth such “incident” in three days.

The migrants were brought ashore in Dover, as is customary under European Union protocols. The illegal aliens will be processed and medically examined before immigration officials will make a determination as to whether any of those caught crossing illegally will be granted asylum.

Those migrants not recognised as refugees — and few if any should qualify, given France is a safe country — will likely be added to the ever-growing number of people in the United Kingdom who have been denied status but not deported.

“The nationalities of those found are yet to be established. Their cases will be dealt with in line with the immigration rules”, a Home Office spokesman told KentOnline.

Though the United Kingdom has faced illegal migrants trying to break in by by boarding ferries, hijacking lorries, and even storming the Channel Tunnel, the illegal sea crossings of the English Channel, reminiscent of those in Italy, Spain, and Greece, are a more recent phenomenon, certainly at the scale the country is currently experiencing.

Despite pronouncements from both the French and British governments a report from the local government in Calais found that an average of five migrant filled boats have set sail for Britain per week since the beginning of the year. So far this year over 1,500 migrants have successfully reached British shores — with only a very small number sent back, thanks to EU asylum rules.

The danger posed to migrants travelling by sea, instead of entering the country by legal methods, was tragically demonstrated over the summer when a man from Iraq attempted to swim to England from France, drowning in the process.

At the time a spokesman from the Home Office said: “Anyone seeking to swim across the Channel or to cross this dangerous stretch of water in a small boat is taking a huge risk.”