Because of successive government’s unwillingness to deal with this issue, we are going to end up with a far right government. The electorate has been pushed into a corner. Only recently have people been “allowed” to speak about illegal immigration, and it is too late to stop the right wing taking power at election time. Same thing happened at Brexit. Because nobody was allowed to air their views, they aired them via a referendum vote. That didn’t work because successive governments still ignored the issue. Same thing will happen at election time.
Apart from the worrying levels of sexual assaults on women and girls, it is the cost of all of this - the lawyers, the system, the accommodation etc at a time when all are financially squeezed. Optics are not good.
Plus immigrants that went through the system legally who may have lived here years, who have contributed to the country, are being lumped in with those who are already committing a crime by entering the country illegally. They will be unfairly made to feel unwelcome too, although they have done nothing wrong.
We have gone past the stage of thinking that these young men persistently trying to get here via boats (and despite the spin, it is young men) just want a safe life. They are not asylum seekers. They come here full of entitlement and outdated notions about women and their place in society, and the failure of successive governments to act is causing massive societal issues already.
The young men know via social media that we are a soft touch. They have no fear of the law or repercussions.
This is now a massive topic that everyone is talking about - not just right wing thugs - liberally minded people have also had enough. We have a long history of providing asylum. What is happening now isn’t that. Its madness.