Number of Channel Crossings Increases This Year: EU Border Agency

The number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel to the UK has increased by over 30 percent from last year, the EU border agency Frontex has revealed. Over 16,300 migrants attempted to make their way to the UK via the Channel route in the first four months of the year. This is a 34 percent increase on the 2023 figures, according to Frontex. In April, the agency found that the first three months of the year saw the number of detections increase by 56 percent, to 11,635, compared to the same period in 2023. The Home Office reported 7,567 illegal immigrants arriving in the UK in small boats for the first for months of 2024, an increase on 5,946 people recorded at the same time last year....