The deaths of at least 27 people in the English Channel is fueling tensions between the U.K. and France over how to stop migrants from crossing the world’s busiest waterway in small boats.
The Associated Press
Wednesday’s tragedy comes amid an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the channel in inflatable boats and other small craft after the COVID-19 pandemic limited air and ship travel and Britain’s departure from the European Union curtailed cooperation with neighboring countries. Home Secretary Priti Patel, who oversees the U.K. immigration system, on Thursday told the House of Commons that she had renewed the offer of joint patrols “yet again ... in the last hour.”
When it left the bloc, Britain also exited a system that provided for intra-European cooperation on asylum and other migration issues, said Nando Sigona, professor of international migration and forced displacement at the University of Birmingham. At the same time, people smugglers have realized the channel is a lucrative route for migrants and they are stepping up their effort with bigger boats.
Pierre-Henri Dumont, a French lawmaker from the channel port of Calais, warned that the British proposal wouldn’t solve the problem along 300 kilometers of coastline that needs to be constantly monitored.
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