So what can in practical terms fully halt illegal immigration?

It was pretty clear directly after the vote that the government was going for a hard Brexit, which would mean withdrawal from the Dublin Agreement.

In addition the news was full of unbridled optimism of Great Britain forging its way to the bright uplands of prosperity unshackled from the tyranny of Brussels. It was a magnet felt around the world for the dispossessed seeking refuge and the criminal sensing opportunity.

before 2016- ‘handfuls’ arrived by boat per BBC
Jun 2016- Brexit vote
2016- 100 (estimate BBC reports)
2017- 300 (estimate BBC reports)
2018- 539 (official home office records began)
2019-1,843
2020- 8,466
Brexit agreement has UK withdrawing from, Dublin III Agreement a/o 20 Dec 2020. Which meant asylum seekers can no longer be deported to the 1st EU country they entered.
2021-28,526
2022-45,774
2023-29,437
2024-36,816
2025-41,472

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/channel-priti-patel-rishi-sunak-boris-johnson-suella-braverman-b1202004.html

https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/channel-crossings-tracker/

Brexit= weaker ability to deport asylum seekers or foreign criminals because we’d given the EU the two finger salute. Dublin and our EU membership was a deterrent, that deterrent disappeared. 💨

I live in Leicester and has Asians living there since the late 1940s. During the time Brexit vote, the people who were living during the 1940s said they are voting Brexit due to the Indians. How bloody stupid and thick are these people?

They came to the UK 10-25 years before we became a member of the EU - in 1973, EU was known as the EEC.

There are some Asian families that had 4 generations born in the UK.

Many people vote without thinking what the parties are pledging.

Could you read the previous posts on numbers around this. They were really low. And we took more than we returned.

Can you also think through what it means for other EU countries, and whether everyone returns people to Italy, Spain and Greece in high numbers, they don’t people the criteria is very restrictive and those countries have to say yes.

How many people do you think we returned back to France before Brexit? Are you under the impression that we’d just say ‘no thank you’ and be able to put them back on a ferry? We couldn’t just send them back to France at any point, either before, during or after Brexit. Please look at the stats in my post of 20:33 if you don’t believe me.

After Brexit, the U.K. could no longer return immigrants back to France , so it makes sense that numbers would increase

😀 mind you if some politicians and BBC pump out similar it’s a toughie

We’ll get there, one poster at a time!

Yes but you’ve got it wrong. The pp has shown why.

But that isn’t what the stats say at all. The numbers went up, but not from the time of the vote. As you quite correctly say, the vote was in 2016. The numbers of small boats didn’t start increasing until 2018, it was barely registering before that. Coupled with the fact that security checks in France had increased around the same time, and traffickers evolving their methods into less risky (for them) and more lucrative methods, that was the cause of the increased numbers.

What was it about Brexit that you think caused an increase in numbers? Dublin? Have a look at those stats, which will show you exactly how many people we returned to the EU prior to leaving, compared to how many people we accepted. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/what-is-the-dublin-iii-regulation-will-it-be-affected-by-brexit/

Good for you. You fulfil a vital role and I can’t imagine it’s easy. But that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t see the dates that undocumented applicants make their claims and the dates those claims are decided, when compared to documented applicants. You have some anecdotal experience with a limited number of applicants which you’re using to support your claim. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s an incorrect assumption on your part.

Shall we agree to differ? You maintain your position and I’ll maintain mine? Neither of us are going to change the other’s mind and I just can’t be bothered to argue about it anymore.

@Vivienne1000 I think the difference is less black and white. It’s not illegal to claim asylum, and there is no way to claim asylum other than arriving in the UK. Small boat arrivals are irregular, not illegal. Educate yourself, maybe?

About 6500 Iranian girls and women have arrived on small boats since 2018. Would you send them all back because they’re ‘illegal’?

Reform. Do we really believe and trust Reform and their leader? The same leader that said vote for Brexit and see millions new funding go into the NHS. The reason everyone (or most) are having such a hard time, is the fact we are in an economic depression. The average house price (London) has risen by 400% -500% in past 30 years vs average wage rise of 150% in same timeframe. Wages are not keeping up with the cost of land/ housing. Throughout the centuries people from other nationalities have always been made a scapegoat of in times of financial crisis. I’m Irish - happened to my folks. Immigration is NOT the driving factor of poverty, lack of affordable homes, high streets closing up, anti social behaviour and crime. Over past 16 years councils who receive funds from central government (and council tax/ % of biz rates) to do the work they are legally responsible for - their budgets have been cut and cut. Most councils spend 80% of their budget on adult social care (looking after the elderly), and temporary housing. The driving cause of the hardships we face can be illustrated by water companies. We sold off water companies and privatised them. We have to pay for water here (in Ireland we don’t). Water costs are extortionate. Water companies get funding from the government to run. Water companies have shareholders who have seen rise in profits all the while our bills increase, government has to fund them whilst our seas and rivers are literally full of crap. Our taxes our paying for broken services that are somehow making a profit - and going into hands of shareholders. Look around and that is what the issue is - money is taken from us and going into hands of a tiny % of people whose wealth is growing at an extraordinary rate. Sure, blame people coming over here from USA, Germany, Oz, India or whatever. That isn’t the problem. Reform are not the answer. They just have the most amount of cash to run 24/7 campaigns that get their message across effectively.

You said
The point remains that it’s nothing to do with Brexit.

I am arguing that Brexit did cause an increase in boats arriving. The data shows it did. As soon as the vote was confirmed, the number of boats started to escalate.

I’m not arguing otherwise. What’s your point?

Those in MN who think illegal immigration is positive.

But they didn’t come here illegally did they? What part of that don’t you understand? This is not about legal migration. It’s about illegal migration.
Maybe educate yourself on the difference.

It used to be that way, until austerity made it extra super hard to get PIP.

Agree. UK is a sinking ship. I am getting my ducks in a row to leave too.

Aus and NZ belong to the OCHR, it’s the Overseas section of the CHR. We are in the European CHR. Pointless to pull out of the ECHR to join the OCHR 😅

So we’d join the OCHR then like they did?
What would be the point? To leave the European CHR and go for the Overseas CHR?

Yes lots of families used to be housed in defunct or semi condemned social housing that was not fit for letting any more (about to be pulled down that sort of thing) but that was years ago Im not sure when I last saw that. Some are private properties, again some not likely to be able to be rented on the open market because of the exemptions although they're still safe, but the HO usually use hotels now.

My consultant surgeon was Iranian, amazing man.

Maybe that poster took Tehran street spitting personally. The number of men hawking boogers and spitting in any city street in England is just as prevalent and disgusting.

We are not mistaken at all. We are the parent to the children Im talking about so have relationships with our HO and immigration partners and the applicants solicitors. We attend hearings and tribunals with them. Where we are working with a family, so are not the parent of their children, we have consent to speak on their behalf and access information about their claim with them.

We are joint partners and equal parties in court in various cases which the public never hear about and we know about the various pathways and barriers of application and refusal and delay.

The work we do to help children access and obtain their documents where possible is intense and absolutely necessary to try to avoid delay.

The vote was in 2016. We were already in Brexit transition by 2018.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2025
The homicide rate was 8.6 homicides recorded per million population during YE March 2025 *England and Wales)

That would equate to 0.86 homicides per 100,000 population (roughly the number of asylum seekers each year) so people can draw their own conclusions about whether asylum seekers are over represented in terms of the number of murderers.