PTI
The number of people from India who entered the UK illegally via the English Channel last year has reportedly risen sharply, with a total of 683 Indian men reported to have landed on UK shores via small boats.
This figure is according to the latest figures from the UK Home Office for the year ending December 2022. Also, 67 people from India went to UK via small boats in 2021, 64 in 2020 and none in 2019 and 2018.
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India has a repatriation deal under the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP), which UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned in Parliament last week.
“We are going to have repatriation agreements with India, Pakistan, Serbia, Nigeria and most importantly now with Albania, where we are repatriating hundreds of people,” Rishi Sunak told the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
“Our position is clear: if you come here illegally, you can’t claim asylum here, you can’t access modern slavery, and you can’t make bogus human rights claims. That is the right thing to do,” said Indian-origin British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The bill comes a week after he signed a new and improved deal with neighboring France to prevent illegal migration of small boats through a route used by people smugglers from the French port of Calais to the English port of Dover.
Under the deal, Britain will increase UK funding for a new migrant detention center on the French border and extra officers, drones and surveillance technology to crack down on criminals who facilitate unsafe small boat trips.
According to Home Office data on irregular migration, there will be more than 400 Indian nationals in the UK under the category of “sufficiently undocumented air arrivals” in 2022.
The majority of the “irregular arrivals” in small boats from India are men between the ages of 25 and 40. A total of 45,755 people entered illegally in 2022, mostly dominated by nationals from Albania and Afghanistan, followed by Iran, Iraq and Syria. Other South Asian nationals on the list include Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis.
Smugglers are believed to be charging thousands of pounds to smuggle people onto small and often unsafe boats in the hope of seeking asylum in the UK. Many deaths have occurred over the years as a result of such journeys, but the number of migrants undertaking these arduous journeys continues to multiply.
Rishi Sunak has made efforts to “stop illegal boat entries” one of his government’s top priorities, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman introducing a new Illegal Migration Bill in Parliament. The bill stipulates that anyone arriving illegally on “small boats” should be returned to their home country or another “safe third country”. In addition, anyone who has entered the country illegally will be barred from returning in the future or applying for British citizenship.
“It has to stop. By bringing in the new laws, I make it absolutely clear that the only safe and legal route to the UK is. If you come here illegally, you cannot claim asylum or make a life here,” Suella Braverman told the Commons earlier this week.
“You will not be allowed to stay. You will be sent to your home country if it is safe for you or to a safe third country such as Rwanda. It’s the only way to stop people risking their lives and thousands of pounds to criminals from coming here,” said Suella Braverman, minister of Indian origin.
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