That it's a massive waste of time, effort, money, lives and we should just bring them over by coach and ferry.

[Ablondiebutagoody]

I have just watched the video from earlier today/yesterday of a migrant boat departing Boulogne. The one where the Dad (presumably) ditches his toddler in the sea in order to get onto the boat. The kid was instantly picked up by French emergency workers and it struck me that this whole situation is completely bizarre.

There were approximately half a dozen lifeguards around the boat on jet skis and paddle boards, probably also a load of police out of frame. The boat will then be shadowed by French coastguard vessels until halfway across the channel, at which point border force/RNLI will pick them up and bring them to the UK. They will then be greated by coaches, a couple of hundred riot police and some gammons before continuing to their destination.

AIBU to think that this is all a total farce and we should simply provide the coaches from the outset?

YABU - The current arrangement is best.

YANBU - Coach and ferry would be better for everyone.

Won't ever happen because if we start assigning fair quotas, we will have to take a lot more people than we currently do...

Neither of your options.
That video disgusted me, if it didn’t disgust you (not you particularly OP) I can’t understand you at all. A tiny innocent child discarded as so much rubbish, I don’t want that creature in my country. 😡

Exactly.

Yeah, the home office don’t publish Visa overstay figures so I can’t link to those. It’s generally agreed that those are a much higher number than small boats, obviously as they don’t track them I can’t provide data.

parliamentary committees are pushing it apparently, but I don’t really know how they will get it if the home office aren’t tracking exit dates properly.

here’s a link from government in case anyone wants it

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inspection-report-published-an-inspection-of-overstayers-march-october-2025

i’m at serious risk of turning into a data bore aren’t I? 😂

Hopefully.

The alternative for these migrants is to stay in France. What is so scary about being in France? Do you know because I certainly don't.

I often wonder what exactly is the pull factor in the UK, as opposed to asylum in France? Is it the fact that UK is English speaking, do the migrants have contacts with relatives already here, is the absence of a National ID card a way to avoid detection for crimes, and out of reach of Europol etc., is it the hard sell of the traffickers that UK is heaven on earth and you must pay to get there. What?

Anyone know, or any other theories? France is a very nice country to live in I would have thought. But if migrants don't think so, well then the UK might have to look at why that is.

No idea, never been there.

Specifically the Tory government in 2022.

A parliamentary question asked whether the Government would negotiate with France to establish centres where people in France could apply for UK asylum rather than crossing the Channel. Immigration Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford replied:
“the UK Government will not negotiate to have centres in France where asylum seekers can apply for asylum to the UK.

Interestingly, a lot of asylum hotels were being opened around this time.

English is the international language - that’s one of the reasons.

I suspect they're being exploited (well, further exploited) by traffickers, for financial gain.

France, I believe, has far more applications than the UK. Ergo, it's a myth that asylum seekers don't stay in France. Lots (most?) of them do.

The obvious approach is to go all out on targeting the traffickers. 'Smash the gangs' as was once promised.

Every single one should be returned and never allowed to stay. If you enter the country illegally or have lied in any application you should be sent packing.

Interestingly, a lot of asylum hotels were being opened around this time

And presumably making the hotel owners a lot of money.

Absolutely not. This country is sinking as it is. We can not afford the benefits that we pay out as it is and the NHS is at breaking point.

So what is the catastrophic event that has happened in France to make these migrants so desperate to cross the channel, I must have missed it.

{mention:pelamo}@pelamo, I have often wondered too. Online reasons say:

• English is help as the second most spoken/taught language
• Diaspora community to assist
• People smugglers selling it as an easy destination
• No national ID making it easier to find work/housing
• The fact that even if your claim is rejected, you are unlikely to be deported. Get to the UK = set for life. In some countries, the difference between a whole family struggling and one surviving is the remittance their overseas relative sends each month.

If we want to get numbers down, we need a way for them to apply that does not require thrm crossing the channel, combined with a yearly cap and very narrow criteria. We are a nature depleted tiny island - we simply can't take in everyone suffering from war, famine and dictatorship.

Visa overstayers is another complication that needs to be addressed - but I don't know if it can be without tracking people's ID.

But aren't we paying France to stop them entering the water, not escort them!!

Smash the gangs, grow the economy!!

more like grow the gangs and smash the economy!

I don’t think anyone has any real way of stopping this. These people are desperate and will do anything to get to the UK. I really worry for the future but with global warming and sub-Saharan Africa being such a hell hole, illegal migration is only going to get worse sadly.

A processing centre, or centres where background checks are done, and detention until the asylum claim is approved etc. But where?

I have a daft idea (yes I will be mocked and worse...), An island off the coast of Britain. Think of one or more that are sparsely populated, not easy to get to, and then hugely incentivise pay the inhabitants to leave and set up home on the mainland, all expenses paid. Then put all the asylum seekers there instead of Rwanda.

It would be economical in the long run.

Ok, I'm ducking down now.

You pay for them and have them in hmo in your town
We've got enough skuzzy men without adding to it further.

That's my point though. There isn't any border control. It seems that anybody who can scrape a couple of grand together can jump on a boat and be escorted here at great effort and expense by the French and UK Governments. Why not cut out the whole English Channel charade and let the migrants get a coach from France instead?

But that’s horrendously unfair to the people who chose to live there because it’s a lovely quiet island.

I agree that border control is a misnomer. It exists in ports and airports but not on the beaches of the South Coast.

I feel for people who pay through the nose for a visa to work here, and all others who actually use their passports to enter the country legitimately. I don't think UK has an EU style exit/entry (EES) passport system check, but why not? Time to do it I think. But that only covers visa overstayers really. Still it's a start.

You haven’t addressed the enormous numbers we would end up with if we did that.

I know, I did say I was daft!. But it would be worth asking them! You'd never know how many would jump at the chance to be paid handsomely to move away.