Home Office threats have not stopped 18,000 migrants from fleeing to the UK

A report shows that more than 18,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far in 2023.

Home Office data declares that 661 people made the journey following the arrival of 15 boats to the UK on Monday 21 August.

Again this month, on August 10, the highest daily total for 2023 was recorded after 756 migrants made the Channel crossing in 14 boats. According to PA news agency analysis of the UK government's figures, these numbers take the provisional total to 18,618 to date.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seemed pleased when he expressed to reporters that the number of migrants making their way to the UK is "down for the first time in some years".

On 22 August 2022, a staggering 1,295 people arrived in boats on UK shores.

The British Red Cross explain that despite being forced onto barges that have proven to be unsafe, many refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are desperate to come to the UK "to reunite with family they've been battling to find for years", along with the fact that, "sometimes people can't access asylum systems in other countries".

An anonymous asylum seeker who was evacuated from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset told reporters that the government are treating migrants "less than animals".

Following the discovery of Legionella, a bacterium that causes serious cases of pneumonia and lung infections if inhaled, more than 30 of 500 male migrants were ordered off of the Bibby Stockholm barge by the Home Office.

With fears surrounding the water that he consumed while he was onboard the barge, the man said: "I feel so bad. Especially because on the news they said they took water samples but instead of waiting for [the] result before putting people on there, they just put us on there. It's like we don't matter."

"They should have been so sure it is habitable. Why not wait for the result and be sure everything is okay? We are being treated like less than animals. They are endangering us," he added.

The man also expressed how he is "worried about becoming ill", while being "all alone" and without any family.

The man who spoke to reporters outside of his new basic accommodation revealed that he arrived in the UK in December 2022 with hopes of finding peace, until he was ushered onto the barge last week.

Describing the conditions of the Dorset barge, the man told reporters: "For me, it's small, like being in a prison, because the security is too much. There's no freedom. For me, I have a fear of water. I can't swim. Me being on [the] water, my heart palpitates. I can't sleep."

Dorset Council have claimed that the Home Office was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday 15 August.

The Home Office disagreed, stating that there is no evidence of any verbal message and that they only received a written notification about the Legionella outbreak on Wednesday 16 August.

After launching an appeal to save the unlawful Rwanda bill in July, the Home Office recently announced that the "health and welfare of asylum seekers remains of the utmost priority".

With support from the Refugee Council, campaigners who have criticised the government's treatment of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, are sending more than 9,000 postcards to child asylum seekers.

The Cartoon Not Creulty movement was started by Rima Amin after paintings of cartoon characters at a migrant reception centre in Kent were covered earlier this year.

Robert Jenrick, the Immigration Minister, was slammed for making the decision while he claimed that the bright images were too "welcoming" and not "age appropriate".

Amin expressed: "To say that the cartoons were not age-appropriate fails to recognise the 9,300 under-14s that arrived in the UK just last year."

"While we continue to call for the cartoons to be restored, we understand the immediate need to ensure that no child is deprived of a warm and compassionate welcome," the UK Change activist added.