Illegal Immigrant Channel Crossings Rise by 25 Percent Amid Calls for Safe and Legal Routes

A group of illegal immigrants in a small boat travelling France and heading in the direction of Dover, England, on Aug. 29, 2023. Gareth Fuller/PA

The number of illegal immigrant Channel crossings in the last year has urged by a quarter on the previous year, Home Office figures show.

The daily arrival figures show that last year some 36,816 made the dangerous journey across the Channel. This is a jump of 25 percent from 29,437 who arrived in 2023.

The total number of crossings in 2024 is higher than all previous years since records began in 2018, apart from 2022 when a hike of 45,774 crossings was recorded.

The last week of 2024 saw 1,776 immigrants arrive to UK shores, with 451 crossings recorded on Christmas Day. Amid the blustery weather conditions in the lead-up to the New Year, the Home Office recorded no crossings in the last two days of 2024.

The crossings figures come as the government announced new laws on Thursday to crack down on people smuggling gangs. In an upgrade of the existing Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs), the Home Office said that suspected people smugglers will face new restrictions, such as travel bans and social media blackouts.

The measures aim to tackle organised immigration crime and will form part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently making its way through Parliament.

Small Boats Crisis

In the latest statement on small boat crossings, the Home Office reaffirmed the government’s commitment to stopping the dangerous journeys that immigrants take to reach the UK.

The Refugee Council described 2024 as the “deadliest” year on record for Channel crossings. It reported that some 69 people died attempting to cross in small boats, including a number of babies and children, which is more than the total between 2019 and 2023.

The government has acknowledged the impact of the small boats crisis on UK security and immigrant safety. Since coming into power, Labour has ended the Rwanda immigration scheme, adopted under the Conservatives, and announced plans to hire hundreds of new investigators and intelligence officers, as well as use technology to break down smuggling networks.

The measures, backed by £150 million funding, are part of the government’s national security strategy, which includes the establishment of Border Security Command, announced in July.

The government has also intensified efforts to engage international partners to crack down on criminal gangs.

Britain’s agreements with Serbia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo, signed in November, aim to support plans to crack down on organised immigration crime. The deals, building on the existing partnership between the UK and Albania, will increase intelligence sharing to intercept the gangs as they transport vulnerable people through the Western Balkans.

Smuggling networks operating out of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Europe, are behind illegal migration and trafficking, including across the Channel to the UK.

Safe Routes

However, according to the Refugee Council, enforcement measures, including increased efforts to disrupt smuggling gangs, have made Channel crossings even more dangerous.

Its “Deaths in the Channel” report, published on Thursday, called for a mixed approach that combines enforcement and introduction of safe and legal routes for immigrants.

“More safe and legal routes are needed to provide a lifeline for those fleeing war and persecution. The success of the Ukraine schemes shows that when safe alternatives exist, refugees use them and don’t resort to incredibly dangerous journeys across the Channel,” said the Refugee Council Chief Executive Enver Solomon.

He urged the government to invest in better search and rescue operations in partnership with France. The Refugee Council called for quarterly data on Channel deaths jointly with the French government and increased funding “focused on saving lives.”

Among other recommendations are increasing resettlement to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, expanding eligibility for family reunion to allow unaccompanied children in the UK to bring close family members, and piloting a refugee visa for 10,000 people from high grant countries.

“The government needs to take a different approach if it is to ensure everything possible is done so that 2025 does not see a repeat of last year’s devastating loss,” said Solomon.