With push-backs, new offshore centers and the punishment of irregular entries, Brexit Britain wants to make itself less attractive as a country of asylum. But the reform raises legal questions – it is also unclear how much it can curb migration.
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Migrants after crossing the English Channel. This year the number of crossings has increased significantly.
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In the 2016 Brexit referendum, one of the EU opponents’ arguments was particularly well received: the promise to regain control of migration policy and to curb immigration. But while the EU’s free movement of people has been a thing of the past since the beginning of 2021, irregular immigration across the English Channel is breaking all records. In 2019, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Priti Patel, the hardliner on migration, as Minister of the Interior, 1,800 people crossed the English Channel. In 2020 the number rose to 8,420. Around 29,000 boat migrants have already been recorded this year.
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