Latest news with #illegalImmigration
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Afghan men jailed for piloting boatload of 70 migrants across the Channel - in crossing that killed woman and child on same day Dunkirk flotilla set sail
Two Afghan men who piloted a boat carrying 70 migrants across the Channel, during the same crossing in which a woman and child died, have been jailed. Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were detained after the packed dinghy arrived onshore in Dover on May 21. The vessel was among 13 carrying 825 people in total, which crossed the Channel as a flotilla of 'Little Ships' took part in a Dunkirk evacuation memorial on the 85th anniversary of the WW2 rescue. During their 45-mile journey to remember the rescue from May 1940, Border Force and the French navy asked the boats to clear a one-mile area so the migrant dinghy could pass through. On departure from a beach near Calais earlier in the day, a woman and child were picked up by a French coastal patrol vessel from the overcrowded boat after it got into difficulty but were declared dead. At the time, French officials said most of the rest of the migrants aboard the inflatable refused rescue and carried on to UK. French police are now probing the deaths under the direction of the Dunkirk prosecutor's office, the National Crime Agency has said. After the boat's arrival in the UK, Sajjadi and Mohammadi were arrested and questioned by NCA investigators before being charged with facilitating illegal immigration to the UK. A group of migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard an RNLI Lifeboat after a crossing on May 21 They later pleaded guilty at a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on 24 May and have now been jailed for eight months. NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: 'This tragic incident demonstrates just how dangerous these crossings are, and the callous nature of those who organise them. 'The boat in question was dangerously overcrowded, but Sajjadi and Mohammadi chose to carry on their journey. 'We continue to work with French colleagues to investigate the circumstances of this crossing and the fatalities.' Refugee charity Utopia 56 said it alerted emergency services to the tragedy, writing on X at the time: '"The boat is broken, two people are dead." This is the information we received during a distress call in the English Channel this morning.' Chris Cox, who was coordinating the flotilla celebrating Operation Dynamo, described the moment one of the boats carrying migrants was spotted by a French vessel He said: 'There was a migrant boat in the water that was being covered by a French naval vessel. He added that after being notified, he steered clear 'and let the authorities look after it'. He added: 'For the people in the small boat, they have never done this before, and they don't know what to expect.' The recreation, however, was unhindered on its journey from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, save for the interruption from border officials and the French. The Telegraph reported that sailors were told in a maritime frequency message: 'There is a (French) warship on our head with a migrant (boat) close by. 'And we've been requested to give one nautical mile distance from that vessel, over.' A French-accented voice, believed to be from the French naval vessel Oyapock, then replied: 'Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.' Since Labour came into power, 38,049 people have crossed the English Channel on 685 boats. That averages around 114 migrants crossing per day, higher than the daily averages under Rishi Sunak, 81, and Boris Johnson, 57, but lower than during Liz Truss's brief tenure, when it reached 212. So far this year, a total of 14,807 people have made the crossing. It comes after nearly 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in a single day, with one of Sir Keir Starmer's ministers saying over the weekend that control of Britain's borders had been lost. The Prime Minister faced backlash over what was described as a 'day of shame' as a surge in dinghy crossings overwhelmed both French and UK border patrols. The latest Home Office figures reveal that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, pushing the provisional total for the year so far to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the 10,448 recorded at the same time last year and a staggering 95 per cent increase on the 7,610 from 2023, according to analysis by PA news agency. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. But the total of arrivals for the year, 14,811, is the highest ever recorded for the first five months of a year since data was first recorded on Channel crossings in 2018. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year - and in 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9, reaching 14,058. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers simply stood by on Saturday morning and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled onto an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. On Sunday, Defence Secretary John Healey told Trevor Phillips on Sky News: 'Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday. 'The truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years. 'The last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration. 'But I think that yesterday tells us a really big problem, which is that you've got French police unable to intervene and intercept the boats when they are in shallow water. 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.' Mr Healey insisted there was 'new co-operation' with the French, suggesting their officials would intervene in the water. When asked whether he was 'hacked off' with France for not doing so now, Mr Healey said: 'They are not doing it, but we've got the agreement that they will change the way they work. 'Our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.' Reacting to the huge crossing numbers, the Conservatives' former Home Secretary James Cleverly today said: 'The arrogance of Starmer, Cooper and the rest. 'They thought border control would be easy for the oh-so-clever progressive Labour government. They thought they could achieve more by doing less. Their hubris is now plain to see. 'I warned Yvette Cooper that scrapping the Rwanda agreement would send the wrong message to people smugglers. She ignored me. 'I said the Border Security Command duplicated the work of the Small Boats Operation Command and therefore wasn't adding value. She ignored me. 'Scrapping so many elements of the Illegal Migration Act and fast-tracking asylum acceptances would attract more illegal migration. 'She ignored me. And now we see the worst small boat arrival figures ever.'
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Starmer issues warning after record number of small boat channel crossings in one day
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated that''nobody should be crossing the channel', a day after a record number of migrants made the journey. Taking questions after he announced the Strategic Defence Review in Glasgow, the prime minister was grilled by GB News' Katherine Foster on his 'failure' to keep the British public 'safe in the English channel'. He said that 'nobody should be making that journey' and that the UK is working closely with France and other nations to 'take further action' to prevent illegal crossings. On Sunday (1 June), more than 1,100 migrants arrived in the UK, the highest number recorded on a single day so far in 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Law enforcement reps 'disgusted' after illegal alien allegedly kills Air Force recruit: 'There will be others'
Advocates for police and border patrol lambasted what they said were open border policies that allowed an illegal alien suspected of killing an Air Force recruit into the country in the first place. Joe Gamaldi, national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he was disgusted to learn 18-year-old Ava Moore, a Texas native who was about to begin cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy, was allegedly killed by someone who shouldn't have been in the United States in the first place. "How many cases do we have to see where people who should not have been in this country in the first place end up causing the death or murdering someone else, someone who is here legally in this country?" he asked. "How many families have to be ripped apart? How? How much trauma do we have to take from people who should not be here in the first place?" Moore was a star basketball player at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado whose goal was to become a four-star general. Illegal Aliens Arrested In Death Of Air Force Cadet Candidate Had Suitcases Packed: Report Gamaldi was incredulous at open border advocates watching Americans die at the hands of noncitizens who continue to fight President Donald Trump's closed border policies and deportation efforts. Read On The Fox News App He also warned that, given the number of illegal aliens who entered the country during the Biden administration, he expects more American deaths at the hands of unknown foreigners. "I think they completely ignore the crime and chaos that a number of illegal immigrants bring to our communities," Gamaldi said. "And the most frustrating part, from law enforcement's perspective, and from the victim's perspective and their families', is that the crimes that are committed are avoidable. How many people have to die before the other side says enough?" He also slammed "radical ideologue" judges he said are blocking Trump from carrying out the will of his voters. "They're a disgrace to this country, a disgrace to the robes they wear, and they should resign in shame for what they are doing, politicizing this issue," he said. "They have no business sitting on the bench, and I'm certainly hoping that there will be every action taken to remove them from their positions because all they are at this point are radical ideologues. They're not judges, they're a joke." Ice Identifies Jet Ski Suspects In Air Force Cadet Candidate's Death As Illegal Aliens Art Del Cueto is the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union that represents 18,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Like Gamaldi, he believes the damage from the previous administration's open border policies isn't over. "Another senseless death," he said. "I think that, unfortunately, though, there will be others. We don't know how many people are in the country illegally. And, yes, it could've been someone that's legally in the U.S., but in this case it wasn't. It was somebody that should not have been in the country to begin with. Unfortunately, there's too many politicians that continue to put obstacles from allowing law enforcement to do their job." Daikerlyn Alejandraa Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 22, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a felony, for allegedly striking and killing Moore while riding a jet ski on Lake Grapevine in Texas last weekend. Maikel Coello Perozo, 21, is accused of picking Gonzalez-Gonzalez up and fleeing. Authorities allege Perozo hit another vehicle while speeding off. He has been charged with a collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors. Police reportedly found packed suitcases in the home where Gonzalez-Gonzalez and Perozo were arrested. They were identified as illegal aliens from Venezuela by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Wednesday. Trump's Department of Homeland Security also slammed Biden's border policies in a post on X. "Ava Moore was a patriot serving her country when she was killed by an illegal alien in a hit-and-run over Memorial Day weekend. This senseless tragedy was 100 percent preventable," the post said. "Daikerlyn Gonzalez and Maikel Perozo entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and were released into our interior," the post added. "The previous administration's open border policies have cost too many Americans their lives. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to stand with victims of illegal alien crime and their families." Moore's becomes yet another high-profile death allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien. Jose Ibarra, also from Venezuela, was convicted last year of murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, who lived in the Houston area, was sexually assaulted and strangled to death last year, allegedly by two Venezuelan illegal aliens accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The suspects in that case are Franklin Jose Pena Ramos and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez. Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old New Jersey mother of five, was killed by Salvadoran illegal alien Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez in 2023. A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty of Morin's murder in article source: Law enforcement reps 'disgusted' after illegal alien allegedly kills Air Force recruit: 'There will be others'
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Law enforcement reps 'disgusted' after illegal alien allegedly kills Air Force recruit: 'There will be others'
Advocates for police and border patrol lambasted what they said were open border policies that allowed an illegal alien suspected of killing an Air Force recruit into the country in the first place. Joe Gamaldi, national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he was disgusted to learn 18-year-old Ava Moore, a Texas native who was about to begin cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy, was allegedly killed by someone who shouldn't have been in the United States in the first place. "How many cases do we have to see where people who should not have been in this country in the first place end up causing the death or murdering someone else, someone who is here legally in this country?" he asked. "How many families have to be ripped apart? How? How much trauma do we have to take from people who should not be here in the first place?" Moore was a star basketball player at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado whose goal was to become a four-star general. Gamaldi was incredulous at open border advocates watching Americans die at the hands of noncitizens who continue to fight President Donald Trump's closed border policies and deportation efforts. He also warned that, given the number of illegal aliens who entered the country during the Biden administration, he expects more American deaths at the hands of unknown foreigners. "I think they completely ignore the crime and chaos that a number of illegal immigrants bring to our communities," Gamaldi said. "And the most frustrating part, from law enforcement's perspective, and from the victim's perspective and their families', is that the crimes that are committed are avoidable. How many people have to die before the other side says enough?" He also slammed "radical ideologue" judges he said are blocking Trump from carrying out the will of his voters. "They're a disgrace to this country, a disgrace to the robes they wear, and they should resign in shame for what they are doing, politicizing this issue," he said. "They have no business sitting on the bench, and I'm certainly hoping that there will be every action taken to remove them from their positions because all they are at this point are radical ideologues. They're not judges, they're a joke." Art Del Cueto is the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union that represents 18,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Like Gamaldi, he believes the damage from the previous administration's open border policies isn't over. "Another senseless death," he said. "I think that, unfortunately, though, there will be others. We don't know how many people are in the country illegally. And, yes, it could've been someone that's legally in the U.S., but in this case it wasn't. It was somebody that should not have been in the country to begin with. Unfortunately, there's too many politicians that continue to put obstacles from allowing law enforcement to do their job." Daikerlyn Alejandraa Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 22, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a felony, for allegedly striking and killing Moore while riding a jet ski on Lake Grapevine in Texas last weekend. Maikel Coello Perozo, 21, is accused of picking Gonzalez-Gonzalez up and fleeing. Authorities allege Perozo hit another vehicle while speeding off. He has been charged with a collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors. Police reportedly found packed suitcases in the home where Gonzalez-Gonzalez and Perozo were arrested. They were identified as illegal aliens from Venezuela by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Wednesday. Trump's Department of Homeland Security also slammed Biden's border policies in a post on X. "Ava Moore was a patriot serving her country when she was killed by an illegal alien in a hit-and-run over Memorial Day weekend. This senseless tragedy was 100 percent preventable," the post said. "Daikerlyn Gonzalez and Maikel Perozo entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and were released into our interior," the post added. "The previous administration's open border policies have cost too many Americans their lives. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to stand with victims of illegal alien crime and their families." Moore's becomes yet another high-profile death allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien. Jose Ibarra, also from Venezuela, was convicted last year of murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, who lived in the Houston area, was sexually assaulted and strangled to death last year, allegedly by two Venezuelan illegal aliens accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The suspects in that case are Franklin Jose Pena Ramos and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez. Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old New Jersey mother of five, was killed by Salvadoran illegal alien Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez in 2023. A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty of Morin's murder in April.
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: ICE issues detainers against alleged illegal immigrant burglars
EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued seven detainers for removal against illegal immigrants who allegedly committed two burglaries in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona, last week. The suspects are allegedly part of a South American Theft Group that committed two burglaries in the Phoenix area cities May 23, and they were arrested by the Scottsdale Police Department at the short-term rental the group was staying in. "Under Secretary Noem's leadership, criminal illegal aliens are being held accountable for victimizing Americans," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "ICE is working alongside partner law enforcement agencies throughout the country to ensure that South American Theft Groups — like the one allegedly responsible for burglaries in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona — are dismantled and deported once and for all. We will not allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American communities," McLaughlin added. The suspects are Nicolas Rojas Leon, 23, Joan Sebastian Orozco-Vargas, 26, Andres David Sanchez-Novoa, 38, Natalia Isabella Ortiz-Daza, 26, Martha Juliana Echiverri-Guzman, 28, Lady Johanna Gueito, 32, and Angie Paola Herandez-Manrique, 25. According to DHS, the group operates out of California but is originally from Colombia. Scottsdale Police were informed by Burbank Police in California about the SATG organization May 20 after it allegedly committed other burglaries in California, Oregon and Washington. Golden State authorities shared information, like vehicle descriptions, to help them find the suspects. A French Bulldog was stolen in one of the California break-ins, and it will be returned, according to police. The police department was alerted to the group May 20 by the Burbank Police Department in California. It was warned about a SATG group from Colombia that had allegedly committed burglaries in California, Oregon and Washington and how it could be making its way to Arizona next. Each suspect was ordered held in the Maricopa County Jail pending "numerous criminal charges" on $150,000 cash-only bonds. South American Theft Groups have been prevalent throughout communities in California, Arizona, Colorado and nationwide, particularly in affluent areas. Although this group originated in Colombia, SATGs, like those from Chile, have triggered bipartisan calls for visa waiver program reform. A string of "dinner-time burglaries" in recent years in the Grand Canyon State has ties to SATGs, Arizona's Family reported in March 2024. When Fox News Digital reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, it noted comments County Attorney Rachel Mitchell made at a press conference earlier this week before ICE formally announced the detainers. "Obviously that's a federal issue," Mitchell said when asked about the possibility of suspects being deported. "But my understanding is that there is an ICE file stop on each of the individuals." Scottsdale police said they do not comment on ICE-related matters and deferred to the county attorney's office. There are no sanctuary jurisdictions listed by the DHS in Arizona.
