ENGLISH CHANNEL – Tom's Blog

By Dan Lyman

Four boats bearing dozens of migrants were intercepted crossing the English Channel on Sunday, according to reports.

A total of 39 migrants, all identifying themselves as Iranian nationals, were apprehended by authorities with U.K. Border Force and Kent Police.

“The first boat, which was stopped by the Border Force at 4.40am, contained nine people with the second incident happening at 6am – with five more people being detained in a rigid hulled inflatable boat (Rhib),” the Evening Standard reports.

Another two vessels carrying 11 and 14 migrants, respectively, were located and stopped at 7 am and 7:30 am.

“Border Force dealt with four incidents on November 17 after being alerted to small boats travelling across the Channel towards the U.K.,” a government spokeswoman said in a statement.

“The people from all boats were taken to Dover where they were medically assessed before being interviewed by immigration officials.”

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel has been steadily rising, with over 1,500 successfully completing the journey so far in 2019, a 500% increase from 2018.

In September, U.K. authorities intercepted 86 migrants illegally crossing the English Channel during a record-setting day.

British authorities revealed that migrants have become so emboldened by the lack of disciplinary action being taken against illegal crossers, some are simply calling police from their boats to arrange pick-up.

“Illegal migrants are ringing police to collect them from boats in the Channel because they are so sure of avoiding being returned to their countries, MPs have been told,” the London Times reported in February.

DAN LYMAN MARCH 04, 2019

The French port of Calais plunged into chaos after over 100 migrants stormed a ferry bound for the UK in what police are calling a “coordinated attack.”

A mob of migrants broke through a high-security area, and using dinghies and ladders, managed to charge aboard a DFDS Seaways-owned vessel after its arrival from Dover, with some climbing to the top of the ship’s exhaust funnel and others hiding in the ventilation system, the Daily Mail reports.

The port was temporarily closed, stranding some ships at sea and forcing others to cancel their journeys as authorities embarked on a search-and-rescue mission lasting more than 12 hours.

Emergency response teams reportedly battled difficult weather conditions in an attempt to root out invaders in and around the ship, and were also forced to rescue two who fell overboard.

More than 40 migrants were arrested, with most being released with only a warning, EuroNews reports.

A dozen suspects are slated to appear in court and a 36-year-old man from Mali has been identified as the operation’s “organizer” and sentenced to four months in prison, according to Intelligence Fusion.

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“This was a coordinated and simultaneous attack that did not allow the police, who had too few staff, to intervene,” said police union spokesman Gilles Debove.

Officials claim an escalation of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel is due to the looming Brexit deadline, with one source telling the Daily Mail, “this is something we can expect to see more of in the coming weeks.”

UK Border Force apprehended migrants crossing the Channel in boats of their own on four consecutive days last week.

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According to the UK’s home secretary, while saving the lives of migrants is important, protecting the nation’s borders is important, too.

The UK Border Force had to re-deploy two of its largest ships, known as “cutters,” from overseas missions to the English Channel, after some 100 migrants attempted to cross the strait on dinghies.

I have made a decision today to redeploy two of the Border Force’s largest vessels, known as cutters, from abroad back to the UK, to south-east England, and they will be joining a cutter that is already there and two other coastal patrol vessels,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.

In the most recent incident, 12 migrants, including a 10-year-old child, were detained on the UK’s Kent beach Monday.

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According to a Home Office spokesperson, the migrants presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

“They all received a medical assessment and have now been transferred to immigration officials for interview,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s both about protecting human life but also about protecting our borders,” Javid said regarding his decision. “This will help both with the human side of this situation but also to better protect our borders.”

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In a poorly concealed attempt to paint the justification for the ships’ relocation as a humanitarian one, Javid pointed out that “we must remember that this is one of the most treacherous stretches of water that there is, 21 miles with people taking grave risk, really putting their lives into their own hands by taking this journey.”

However, under a humanitarian façade, a more pragmatic approach is clearly visible.

Javid disclosed that, besides the ships’ deployment, the UK Home Office will also step up its efforts to return detained migrants to France.

“We will do everything we can to make sure [illegal border crossing] is not a success, in the sense that I don’t want people to think that if they leave a safe country like France, they can get to Britain and then just get to stay,” he said.

British cooperation with French authorities is improving, with around 40 percent of attempted crossings disrupted, and the two countries working together “both directly but also in more covert ways,” according to Javid.

According to the home secretary, some 230 migrants attempted to cross the Channel in December, with “just under half” being disrupted by French authorities before taking to the seas.

You can read this story as it originally appeared at Sputnik here.

Tag: ENGLISH CHANNEL

100 Migrants Swarm French Port, Storm Ferry in “Coordinated Attack”

The French port of Calais plunged into chaos after over 100 migrants stormed a ferry bound for the UK in what police are calling a “coordinated attack.”

UK Deploys Ships to English Channel Over Migrant Crisis

According to the UK’s home secretary, while saving the lives of migrants is important, protecting the nation’s borders is important, too.