Home Office figures reveal deportations have more than doubled compared to this time last year.
New statistics reveal that a higher number of migrants arriving on small boats are being deported from Britain at an accelerated rate.
According to the Home Office, 628 individuals attempting the Channel crossing were repatriated within six months this year, compared to 382 for the entirety of 2022.
Notably, 500 of those deported were originally from Albania, following an agreement with the Eastern European nation to curb the influx of their citizens.
In 2021, only 28 individuals who entered the UK illegally via small boats were deported. However, this year has seen deportations extend to not just Albanians but also 45 Iraqis, 17 Iranians, and people from 54 other countries.
Recent developments include asylum seekers being instructed to return to the Bibby Stockholm barge after it was evacuated due to the detection of Legionella bacteria in the water supply. The Home Office has affirmed that all necessary tests have been conducted on the vessel, which has been inactive since August.
Letters are being dispatched to asylum seekers to confirm their re-boarding, although a specific date has not been provided as of yet. The Bibby Stockholm is part of the government’s strategy to offer cost-effective alternative housing for migrants awaiting the processing of their asylum applications, with former military sites also repurposed for this purpose.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has designated curbing boat crossings in the English Channel as one of his top five priorities in anticipation of an upcoming general election. A legal challenge against the government’s plan to house migrants on the Bibby Stockholm was dismissed this week, with the Mayor of Portland, Carralyn Parkes, contending that it violated planning laws. However, a judge ruled that Mrs. Parkes did not have a valid case after considering arguments in a High Court hearing.
