More than 700 people cross the English Channel on the busiest day of the year so far | Politics News

More than 700 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in a single day – a new record for the year so far.

The Home Office said 711 people made the trip on 14 boats on Wednesday, suggesting an average of 51 people per boat.

The provisional total number of arrivals this year so far stands at 8,278.

This is 34% higher than the total at the equivalent point last year and 19% higher than the total at this stage in 2022.

Last year, 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK, which is a 36% drop from the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The government Rwanda deportation plan it aims to act as a deterrent to “stop the boats” – one of Rishi Sunak’s key promises.

Since the Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Act became law last week, 1,611 migrants have crossed the English Channel.

The legislation aims to revive the stalled scheme which has faced repeated legal challenges since it was announced two years ago.

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Under the plan, people who enter the UK unauthorized will be sent to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed there.

Since the latest legislation was passed, tensions have risen between the UK and Ireland following people entered the Republic to escape deportation.

But the Westminster government says it will not take people back until a reciprocal agreement is established. to allow returns to France for people crossing the English Channel.

No one has been deported to Rwanda yet, although this week a failed asylum seeker voluntarily chose to go to Kigali as your application to remain in the United Kingdom was rejected under a different regime.

The government said removal flights are scheduled to take off within nine to 11 weeks, with the first people to be deported detained on Wednesday after police raided their homes.