Small boat migrants to the UK are 36% UP on this time last year.

Dispelling myths about migrants and housing

www.cih.org/blogs/dispelling-myths-about-migrants-and-housing/#:~:text=There's%20no%20straightforward%20link%20between%20migration%20and,otherwise%20people%20share%2C%20live%20with%20parents%20etc.

And no, it isn’t simply that they speak English already as most hardly have a word of it.

Of course it is Primrose53 what else can be the draw? France has said as much several times.Immigrants from all sorts of countries make beeline for the UK the land of milk and honey.
Housing, education and free medical care and many benefits.
Stay in France, they say ‘ why would we?!’

Whitewavemark2

Primrose53

I have spent this evening with my friend who is from Tanzania. She says she has lived here now for 25 years and in all that time she has never had a visit from any of her family as they are unable to get visas to come for a holiday.

She is furious that people can just come over in rubber dinghies and get everything handed to them when they are here illegally. She says that we are a laughing stock and in Tanzania they look after their own people before taking in others and treating them better than their own.

When she came here with her British husband she did everything legally so has no sympathy whatsoever for illegal immigrants.

I am surprised about the visa issue as I have a neighbour whose family largely reside in Zimbabwe and they visit him very frequently.

The same applies to people from another African state in my daughter’s village.

I wonder why your friend’s family have such difficulties? Perhaps there is a reason about which you are not aware?

I wouldn’t take too much notice if the idea that we are a laughing stock, or that illegal immigrants get treated better than British people. I’m sure that after some thought you would come to the conclusion that neither is correct.

Her family are very respectable.

Her niece is a medical student. She was refused.
Her nephew was also refused he is studying Accountancy at Uni.
Other family members have been refused.
They just want a couple of weeks holiday with her.
Her MP got involved but no joy there.
She provided term dates to which they had to return to Uni and said she would get them return tickets as proof that they would not overstay their holiday.

I don’t like the tone of your last paragraph. We ARE a laughing stock now and it has been widely reported that new houses being built will go to migrants. What other country would give illegals all that we do? That’s why they all flock here!

Whitewavemark2

fgt I am not sure where you think I have dismissed illegal immigration.

However, what many on this thread are it seems conveniently forgetting, is that we are still signed up to the international law on asylum seekers and refugees.

So by that definition, very few of those accessing the U.K. by a rubber dingy will in fact be illegal immigrants, but in fact someone seeking asylum from various hardships. These arrivals will be examined and decisions made accordingly. Those who are deemed not asylum seekers will be returned, and indeed that is exactly what has been happening at an ever increasing level - in fact it rose by 36% in the last 6 months of 2024.
So immigration to the U.K. is by those who are coming to fill various jobs/career paths, and those who are hoping to live a life free from torture and death etc. are a tiny % of the overall total, but a % that we have both a moral and legal duty to deal with in a humane and civilised way.

We are not living in Trumpland!

Very well said. People don't seem to understand that asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants. They get here by irregular means, which seems to be the only way they can, but once here and asylum is sought, they are legal.

Me too!

I have already looked there Casdon.
As you say you need the info collated reliably.
It breaks it down week by week.
You would actually have to add up the weeks to be honest.

I was hoping someone had actually done that.

As I understand it the raw data is used to compile the weekly, monthly and quarterly statistics from the daily return copied above.
www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
It is then produced in monthly and quarterly tables, as per attachment.

I am still hoping for the raw data.

NotSpaghetti

Casdon it's all the lazy comments that tend to annoy people.

Journalists ate lazy too you know.

I know, but they do use data analysts to compile graphs comparing information - I could do the same, but it would be wasted effort for something which just extrapolates figures from existing data sets. I was hoping somebody else had the energy to do it, but alas, no so far.

Casdon it's all the lazy comments that tend to annoy people.

Journalists ate lazy too you know.

Casdon, I understand completely that we rely on our sources.
However, I would sound a small note of caution: please refer to my post yesterday regarding the accuracy of some journalism.

The issue with the government data is that the longer time periods we were looking at require you to do lots of legwork to find exactly what you’re looking for, because it’s not in an easily accessible format, that’s why I chose the comparison I did. Lazy I know, but let the journalists do the legwork.

Here is a reliable source for accurate information. www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days

There’s a graph included in this article of a few weeks ago which gives the annual trend in boat migrant numbers.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53699511
You can see from the graph that January-March 2025 has not been exceptional. The benchmark year for the highest number is 2022. It’s less clear whether the period July-December 2024 was exceptional because the figures in the graph are cumulative, but it doesn’t look from the trend that they are. Freya5 will perhaps provide more detail.

Whitewavemark2

fgt I am not sure where you think I have dismissed illegal immigration.

However, what many on this thread are it seems conveniently forgetting, is that we are still signed up to the international law on asylum seekers and refugees.

So by that definition, very few of those accessing the U.K. by a rubber dingy will in fact be illegal immigrants, but in fact someone seeking asylum from various hardships. These arrivals will be examined and decisions made accordingly. Those who are deemed not asylum seekers will be returned, and indeed that is exactly what has been happening at an ever increasing level - in fact it rose by 36% in the last 6 months of 2024.
So immigration to the U.K. is by those who are coming to fill various jobs/career paths, and those who are hoping to live a life free from torture and death etc. are a tiny % of the overall total, but a % that we have both a moral and legal duty to deal with in a humane and civilised way.

We are not living in Trumpland!

My personal beef, and I realise this is maybe not how everyone sees it, is that there are not proper ways in which they can apply legally.

Also international law about the issue[may start a separate thread on that in a few days].

Also lack of political will.

I did see the piece regarding the numbers of those arriving on small boats had increased since the GE on the ITV breakfast news yesterday (25/03)

They are cheeky buggers

Really? Every single person who comes here is a cheeky bugger?
How extraordinary.
Surely that's like saying every person with blue eyes is lazy or every person with brown eyes shouldn't be your friend. Ring any bells at all?

fancythat

Casdon

fancythat

If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means,

Which means?

Ferries, planes, commercial boats, you name it. Before small boat smuggling became the preferred route people got here by other means, and they still do.

So the numbers are much higher than the gov says.

There are numbers for small boat migrants, and numbers for illegal entrants, which include boat migrants and arrivals by whatever other means. That’s been the case for years.

Small boats only became the preferred route (and who on Earth would choose such a perilous journey) after the U.K. government blocked off as far as it was able, others safer and actually much more efficient routes over which the government would have more control.

Freya5

Casdon

fancythat

Discernment and wisdom are Christian!

A bit suss when regular N&P posters on a small boat migrants thread think that posters are not talking about small boat migrants!

That’s because ‘small boat migrants’ is one manifestation only of what people are discussing fancythat. If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means, until there are better alternatives for them elsewhere. It’s very naive to think the UK can resolve this alone and to criticise a government that’s been in power for a short period for not (as I said before) having a magic wand to resolve something that has been happening for years. That’s not how it works in the real world.

The numbers have increased exponentially though, since Labour moved in and discarded what could have been a deterrent, remember they all went to Ireland, so they couldnt be sent to Rwanda. So Labour seemingly have set out a welcome all mat, apparently more young men , we do not from where, because they lie, destroy papers, as for checking numbers, migration watch are doing the Governments job. We don't need more unskilled migrants.

No, the numbers have not ‘increased exponentially’ Freya5, the figures quoted are only comparing 2024 and 2025. I’d be happy to look at any data you have that tells the story you portray though, obviously.

Casdon

fancythat

If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means,

Which means?

Ferries, planes, commercial boats, you name it. Before small boat smuggling became the preferred route people got here by other means, and they still do.

So the numbers are much higher than the gov says.

fgt I am not sure where you think I have dismissed illegal immigration.

However, what many on this thread are it seems conveniently forgetting, is that we are still signed up to the international law on asylum seekers and refugees.

So by that definition, very few of those accessing the U.K. by a rubber dingy will in fact be illegal immigrants, but in fact someone seeking asylum from various hardships. These arrivals will be examined and decisions made accordingly. Those who are deemed not asylum seekers will be returned, and indeed that is exactly what has been happening at an ever increasing level - in fact it rose by 36% in the last 6 months of 2024.
So immigration to the U.K. is by those who are coming to fill various jobs/career paths, and those who are hoping to live a life free from torture and death etc. are a tiny % of the overall total, but a % that we have both a moral and legal duty to deal with in a humane and civilised way.

We are not living in Trumpland!

fancythat

^If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means,^

Which means?

Ferries, planes, commercial boats, you name it. Before small boat smuggling became the preferred route people got here by other means, and they still do.

But in any case, we are talking about small boat migrants on this thread.