The British immigration minister said on Tuesday that the United Kingdom and France had agreed to a plan to stop a wave of illegal immigration that hundreds of migrants had seen across the English Channel to Britain this month.
Immigration Minister Chris Philp said the UK and France had “confirmed our unshakeable shared commitment” to ensure this route was “unavoidable.”
UK PLEDGES TO DOWN OF ‘APPALLING’ WAVE OF ILLEGAL CHANGE IMMIGRATION
“It is facilitated by fair criminal ties, it puts lives at risk and it is completely unnecessary,” he told Sky News after meeting with French officials in Paris.
“We have been working on a joint operational plan, a revised and new operational plan, with the aim of completely cutting this route and we will work at a rapid pace in the coming days to make that plan a reality,” he said.
At least 235 migrants landed in 17 boats as were picked up on Thursday by British Coast Guard and Border Force boats, and exceeded the highest of 202 arrivals of the week in one day.
A Border Force ship helps a group of people thought to be migrants aboard their inflatable dinghy in the Channel, Monday 10 August 2020. (Gareth Fuller / PA via AP)
Philp said more than 1,000 migrants had been detained by the French government this year, but that the numbers still passing were “unacceptable” for both governments. He noted that European Union laws such as the Dublin Regulation make it harder for the UK to repatriate migrants and that Britain will be free from that regulation by 2021 if it leaves the bloc completely.
Philp’s remarks come after Home Secretary Priti Patel described the streams as “terribly and unacceptably high.” But Patel warned that the case was “complex” and “serious legislative, legal and operational barriers.”
Over the years, the countries have made a number of agreements to stop the flows in Britain, which come primarily across the Channel or through the port of Dover-Calais of entry, with the migrants traveling on the back of trucks or on trains.
CLICK HERE TO CLICK THE FOX NEWS APP
Last month, Patel and French Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin agreed to set up a joint intelligence unit to stop the smuggling alliances that help migrants make their journey to the UK.
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that French authorities are stopping ships, but if migrants threaten to jump into the water, they will withdraw if preserving life is the priority. They then shake the migrants to make sure they arrived safely in the UK.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
