The British government shut down rumors among migrants and refugees in Calais about the possibility of seeking asylum after Brexit.
The government, in fact, has stressed the opposite.
Undersecretary of state Chris Philip, in charge of immigration at the Home Office, told British PA news agency that the rumors of being able to seek asylum in the UK were false.
Philip added that the country’s new immigration system would treat asylum claims by those entering from third world countries as inadmissible.
This statement in response to the survey published by the British charity Care4Calais stating that more than half, or 55%, of 140 refugees and migrants who are on hold in the port of Calais, France, are hoping that Brexit would give them a chance of starting a new life in Britain.
Only 20% of the 140 refugees who answered the survey stated that they think Brexit will make it impossible for them to seek asylum in the UK.
New UK Immigration System
In early 2020, the United Kingdom exited the European Union. However, the country continued to follow EU guidelines until early 2021 as it is still undergoing a transitional period.
As the transitional period expires, the UK is introducing changes to its immigration policies, affecting asylum rights.
Since then, UK has replaced EU immigration law largely with a points-based immigration system, and it does not differentiate between EU citizens and other citizens.
Dangerous Journeys
Currently, there are hundreds of migrants and refugees residing in temporary camps in Calais.
They hope that they will eventually reach Great Britain by crossing the English Channel as passengers on freight trucks and trains. Some even cross the waters on small dinghies and boats.
According to the PA news agency, more than 8,400 people have already crossed the English Channel in 2020 by using inflatable boats. Because of the dangers of this, there have been multiple fatalities.
On January 12, 2020, more than 150 migrants arrived in the United Kingdom after attempting to cross the Channel between Europe and Britain.
Out of the 150, around 50 migrants were arrested by French authorities and were transported back to France. All in all, 9,500 migrants cross the Channel in 2020, and this number is four times higher than the number of migrants in 2019.
From January 9 to 10, more than 150 migrants arrived in the UK, according to BBC. AFP wrote that more than 50 migrants, including three children, were rescued by French authorities when their attempts to cross the Channel were aborted due to the freezing weather conditions.
Despite the cold weather, the coronavirus pandemic, and Brexit, it looks like the attempts to cross the waters show no signs of slowing down. And since the pandemic has affected the livelihood of millions of people from around the world, there is a possibility that in 2021, the numbers will skyrocket.