U.K. Government Seeks Migration Miracle Worker, Preferably in Uniform

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U.K. Government Seeks Migration Miracle Worker, Preferably in Uniform

Wanted: an “exceptional leader” with experience in policing, intelligence or the military, who is ready to tackle one of the thorniest issues in British politics.

Days after coming to power, Britain’s government is recruiting a chief for a new Border Security Command to “smash,”

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, the smuggling gangs that help asylum seekers arrive from France on small, often unseaworthy, boats.

The search for the border security commander is the first action taken by the new Labour government to address the unauthorized landings that have become an embarrassing symbol of Britain’s ******** to control its borders.

Its human cost was underscored on Friday when the French authorities said four people had ***** after attempting the crossing near Boulogne-sur-Mer, with a further 63 rescued.

Immigration is a divisive political topic across Europe, and in Britain the issue of migrants arriving on small boats fueled gains in the general election last week by the anti-immigration party Reform U.K., led by Nigel Farage.

Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has also scrapped an expensive plan championed by the government of his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, to send to Rwanda some of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived on the southern English coast. Mr. Starmer described the plan — which was stalled by legal challenges that prevented anyone being put on a flight — as “***** and *******.”

That has intensified the focus on his strategy to confront a problem which his predecessors ******* to tackle.

Some experts say success is possible but will require better enforcement from the new Border Security Command and a far-reaching deal with ********* nations, particularly France.

Not everyone is optimistic.

“If people are desperate and want to come here, they will come here,” said Anand Menon, professor of ********* politics at King’s College London. “Even if you did smash the gangs — which is a great slogan because it sounds proactive, aggressive and you are dealing with baddies — I am very skeptical it is going to lead to a significant decrease in the numbers.”

Growing Numbers of All Migrants

Despite the headlines they generate, the small-boat crossings represent a fraction of Britain’s immigration numbers.

Overall numbers ballooned under successive ************* governments despite Britain’s departure from the ********* Union, which gave the British authorities complete control over who to admit legally to the country.

Net migration has roughly tripled since then, hitting almost 750,000 in 2022, before falling back slightly.

By contrast, around

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. Yet they became a potent symbol of the government’s lack of grip.

Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, a research institute, says the political problem facing Mr. Starmer is fundamentally one of optics. “It’s not the numbers, it’s the visible lack of control,” he said, noting that large numbers of people from Ukraine and Hong Kong had been admitted under special visa programs.

Mr. Starmer faces an immediate challenge because summer, with better weather over the English Channel, is peak season for boat departures and already

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are reporting on the first crossings under the new government.

Previous administrations contemplated a variety of sometimes desperate approaches, i

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to push boats back. They made life less hospitable for those arriving, housing some in a barge that had to be temporarily evacuated when Legionnaires’ ******** was discovered there.

The main focus was the Rwanda plan, launched by Boris Johnson, a former prime minister. Mr. Johnson’s idea was to deter people from crossing the English Channel by promising to put them on one-way flights to Rwanda, where they would stay even if they were granted ******** status. But the plan was stalled by Britain’s Supreme Court. Mr. Sunak sought to break the deadlock by passing a law to circumvent the ruling, but he called an election before his plan got off the ground.

A Pledge to Upgrade Enforcement

Under Mr. Sunak’s government, Britain stepped up cooperation with France, paying millions of pounds to help fund efforts to stop boats leaving French beaches. Last year that prevented more than 26,000 attempts, according to Britain’s Home Office.

But enforcement is complex, France’s coastline is long and smuggling groups are often small and fluid.

“If you did go and find a gang, what are the barriers to entry for another gang to turn up?” said Mr. Katwala of British Future.

Yvette Cooper, Britain’s new home secretary, says the border security command will improve the situation, with “new counter-*******-style powers and stronger measures to tackle organized immigration ******.” It will also step up cooperation with ********* enforcement agencies.

Critics say similar initiatives have been tried before. In 2022 the Ministry of Defense took over operational command of responding to small boat crossings. The following year control returned to the Home Office, the ministry now led by Ms. Cooper, which set up a unit called the Small Boats Operation Command. Drones and A.I. camera technology were also deployed.

“Has the Small Boats Operational Command been disbanded?” asked the former home secretary, James Cleverly, on social media. “What is the difference between the two organizations’ functions?”

Even enforcement upgrades might be insufficient, some analysts say.

“You can stop three-quarters of the crossings but if everyone tries eight times, that just delays how long it takes for somebody to succeed,” said Mr. Katwala.

Speeding Up Asylum Assessments

As well as tackling the trafficking gangs, the new government aims to slash the backlog of asylum claims in Britain. The authorities have been paying around eight million pounds a day, or just over $10 million, to accommodate people, often in hotels, while claims are assessed.

Mr. Sunak had promised to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for their cases to be determined there. While they remained in Britain, their cases were never assessed, meaning that even people who would have been ineligible for asylum were not returned to their home countries, swelling the number of pending cases.

Labour has promised to recruit 1,000 staff members, speed up asylum processing and accelerate the removal of ******* asylum seekers.

On average around 30 percent of claims for ******** status fail. So by resuming processing, the new Labour government hopes to increase the number of people returned to countries considered safe, like Nigeria, India and Bangladesh.

But Professor Menon of King’s College London said there was as yet no plan to deal with those refused asylum who had come from nations deemed unsafe, like Afghanistan, Iran or Syria.

“What happens with those people who are processed and don’t get accepted I don’t know,” he said.

The Answer May Lie in Europe

The biggest question is whether the new government will try to strike a deal to share the responsibility for dealing with migrants with other ********* nations, under which France would take back some asylum seekers who arrive in Britain by small boat.

Mr. Starmer suggested last year that he might accept some refugees arriving in Britain from Europe in exchange for such an agreement. His comments prompted a backlash, with the Conservatives claiming that this would mean Britain accepting huge numbers of migrants from the ********* Union.

Now the election is over, said Mr. Katwala of British Future, a deal may happen.

The government could admit a significant number of people through a legal route if ********* countries took back those arriving on small boats, he said.

Yet, with the far right making gains in several countries across continental Europe, and migration a contentious issue, it ******** far from clear if a deal is possible.

“Immigration is such a salient and poisonous issue in other ********* states,” said Professor Menon, making him wonder whether other nations in Europe “would take time and trouble dealing with what is, as far as they are concerned, a relatively small-scale problem.”

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