UK wants to prevent asylum claims from migrants crossing the Channel

London tightens the screw. The British government wants to prevent migrants who have crossed the Channel from France from applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on Tuesday (October 4th).

>> Migrants: in the United Kingdom, the Channel crossings challenge the hospitality of the inhabitants of Kent

“If you enter the UK illegally from a safe country, you should be promptly returned to your home country or relocated to Rwanda, where your asylum claim will be considered,” said the ultra-conservative minister, given a standing ovation at the Conservative party convention in Birmingham.

London has made the issue of immigration a priority since Brexit. The UK says it wants to reduce the number of migrants the country takes in. Suella Braverman thus affirmed that there was “too many asylum seekers abusing the system” and which do not serve “the needs of the economy”.

The announcements of the Minister of the Interior were denounced in unison by organizations defending the rights of migrants. They believe that they are a diversion, at a time when the British, who are mainly in favor of welcoming migrants according to the polls, are primarily concerned about the crisis in the cost of living.

More than 33,500 people have made the dangerous crossing of the English Channel since the beginning of the year, one of the busiest sea routes in the world. This figure has been steadily increasing since 2018 despite the promises of successive Conservative governments.

According to UK Home Office figures, 94% of the approximately 50,000 migrants who arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in makeshift boats between January 2018 and June 2022 have applied for asylum; 86% of those who have since had their application considered have obtained asylum.