Migrants are risking their lives by boarding small boats to cross the English Channel to the UK. Over 600 people on 14 ships reached Britain last Saturday alone. About 1,843 illegal immigrants crossed into the UK in 2019, but that number quickly multiplied to 28,526 in 2021. Now, the nation is bracing for 60,000 undocumented illegal immigrants in 2022.
The government does not know how to handle the giant influx. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson did recognize the problem, but his strategies failed. Brexit allowed us to take back control of legal immigration by replacing free movement with our points-based system, we are also taking back control of illegal immigration, with a long-term plan for asylum in this country,” Johnson said in a prepared speech. Yet, the woke crowd will not let the UK expel immigrants despite not having the capacity to handle such a sharp uptick in arrivals.
There was the failed flagship Rwanda policy that suggested flying migrants to Rwanda, Africa. One flight was attempted before it was grounded at the last minute by the European Court of Human Rights. Some in the UK blame France for allowing migrants to pass their waters into the UK. The real culprit is former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who opened Germany up to all Syrian refugees and, therefore, the EU’s borders to any asylum seeker years ago. The Mediterranean nations in the EU have been asking for help to no avail.
The UK has more options since Brexit but must tread lightly. The Royal Navy cannot simply sink ships filled with women and children. Smugglers are running the seas and navigating these small boats to UK shores from the EU or Turkey. The potential of a life sentence for smuggling does not seem to be enough of a deterrent. The UK has a broken asylum system that needs to be fixed as the radical uptick in undocumented arrivals is unsustainable.
The post The UK has a Refugee Problem first appeared on Armstrong Economics.
