London: Agencies
British Border Force Federation official Lucy Moreton said that the number of migrants coming to the country via small boats is likely to increase during the current year 2024.
Lucy Moreton warned - according to what was reported by the British newspaper (The Guardian) - that the recent decrease in the number of migrants arriving across the English Channel was likely a defect due to bad weather conditions during the past recent months, saying, “All assumptions for the current year are different from last year 2023, given to confounding factors in weather conditions. According to what was reported by the Middle East News Agency and published by the Youm7 website in Cairo
According to recent British government data, the last trip for this year was last December 16, when 55 people arrived from France on one boat, and no other crossing was recorded for the rest of the year during heavy rains and strong winds, making this the longest consecutive period without arrivals.
The British Border Force Union official added that the total number of arrivals in 2023 decreased by more than a third from 2022, according to government figures, pointing out that the British government needs to provide resources to deal with the higher numbers.
It is noteworthy that the provisional annual total for last year amounts to approximately 30,000 crossing cases, which is more than a third less than the record number of 45,774 crossing cases for the year 2022.

The British Home Office revealed that the number of irregular migrants who crossed the English Channel to the English coast last year 2023 reached 29,437 migrants.
The Ministry explained, according to what was reported by the French newspaper “Le Monde” today, that this figure for the number of irregular migrants in 2023 shows a 35% decline in their number compared to 2022, which was a record year, but 2023 is still the second highest year in the number of migrants. Irregular migrants compared to 2021, which recorded 28,526 irregular migrants.
According to the French newspaper, irregular immigration is expected to constitute a major issue in the general election campaign scheduled to be held this year in the United Kingdom.
The British authorities are closely monitoring the numbers of illegal immigrants, as successive conservative governments have promised to restore control of the borders after Britain leaves the European Union.
British Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Although illegal entry into Europe is increasing, the number of people coming to the United Kingdom illegally is declining... This is an important success.”
According to data from the British Home Office until last November 29, 20% of the irregular migrants who arrived on English shores in 2023 are from Afghanistan, then Iranians (12%), then Turks (11%), Eritreans (9%), and Iraqis (9%). ), while the number of Albanian irregular migrants, the largest crossing into English territory in 2022 (12,658 migrants), decreased by more than 90%, as London (United Kingdom) and Tirana (Albania) reached an agreement aimed at preventing Albanians from leaving their country illegally. Legal to the UK.
According to the British Home Office, 24,000 irregular immigrants were deported in 2023, including 5,500 Albanians.
London and Paris reached an agreement last March stipulating a financial contribution from the United Kingdom of more than 500 million euros over three years in order to strengthen surveillance on French shores and combat smuggling gangs that transport illegal immigrants in boats across the English Channel to the English coast.
The newspaper added that the conservative British government, which has adopted very restrictive asylum laws, still intends to deport immigrants who arrived in the United Kingdom illegally to Rwanda, a draft law that was banned by the Supreme Court, but London has reached a new agreement with Kigali in this regard.
It should be noted that at the end of 2023, the British government announced a shift in reducing irregular immigration, and in 2022, the number of immigrants reached a record level of 745,000 additional people in the United Kingdom, while London promised to reduce this number by 300,000 people. in the next years.
Among the measures for this reduction is ending family reunification for foreign students, but with exceptions, which came into effect as of yesterday, Monday, according to British Home Secretary James Cleverly, who explained, “This measure will allow for a rapid reduction in immigration as the number of people declines.” "In the thousands."