Latest news with #migrantreturns
Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Starmer urged to consider one-in, one-out migrant exchange scheme
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to use next month's UK-France summit to strike a one-in, one-out migrant returns deal. A report by the Migration Policy Institute, a global immigration think tank based in Washington DC, has set out detailed proposals for France and the UK to pursue before the summit. It proposes setting up a series of hubs across France which would screen asylum seekers for eligibility for the UK. Under the plans, France would take back one small boat migrant for each asylum seeker resettled to the UK from the hubs. It would be modelled on the United States' Safe Mobility Offices scheme, which was introduced by the Biden administration in 2023 across countries in South and Central America to screen migrants for asylum before they are exploited by people smugglers and trafficked across borders. It helped individuals find support and access a wide range of services in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala and was credited with a reduction in illegal migration from the countries. In April France opened the door to taking back Channel migrants for the first time after Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, said that it would 'send a clear message' to others planning to make the journey. • Chaos on a French beach as police try to stop migrants His comments have raised hopes among officials and ministers in the UK government that a breakthrough is possible after failed attempts by successive UK governments to persuade France to agree to take back migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats. More than 100 migrants are estimated to have crossed the Channel on Thursday, taking the total number of arrivals over the last nine days to more than 2,500. A total of 17,278 have arrived so far this year, up 50 per cent compared with last year. Downing Street admitted earlier this week that the situation in the Channel was 'deteriorating'. The Migration Policy Institute report proposes that the hubs in France would prioritise individuals with connections in Britain and those from countries with high asylum grant rates such as Sudan, which has a 98 per cent acceptance rate, and Eritrea, which has an 86 per cent grant rate. It recommends starting with a pilot programme that would exchange one migrant back to France for each asylum seeker going the other way following successful screening. The programme should operate with a monthly quota that is linked to the numbers returned to France from the UK. • How small boats crisis is linked to rise in rough sleeping The think tank said that the scheme would provide predictable admissions numbers that the UK government could communicate clearly to the public and would regain control of its borders. The report suggests using artificial intelligence to help support processing migrants' applications at the hubs. It argues that such a system would strengthen the deterrent effect of a returns agreement between the two countries because it would provide a viable and safe alternative to smuggler-facilitated crossings for a segment of the population most at risk of making such journeys. It would also reduce the danger of migrant journeys for the most vulnerable migrants who are most likely to be granted asylum, thereby saving lives. The detailed report also recommends creating a bilateral digital screening pilot that would mirror the EU's Eurodac scheme, which shares the fingerprints and other details of asylum seekers. • French police tear-gas child migrants trying to board dinghy This Eurodac-lite scheme would enable British border officials to check the biometrics of arrivals in the UK against the Eurodac system and thereby facilitate re-admissions from the UK to France. French liaison officers could be stationed at UK intake sites with secure tablets granting read‑only access to Eurodac data. The report said that combining re-admissions with a viable legal alternative held the best chance of curtailing the pull factors for these crossings. The UK-France summit, to be held on July 8-10, is also expected to rubber stamp new French police tactics allowing officers to intercept migrant boats up to 300 metres into the water. However, Care4Calais, the charity that led the successful legal challenge against the Rwanda policy, has said it is considering legal action against the plans. The Migration Policy Institute also proposes that France and the UK operate shared charter flights to reduce the possibility of secondary attempts to cross the Channel. Insufficient flight capacity is one of the major obstacles for France's attempts to deport migrants, according to the report.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Starmer's EU reset fails to secure one thing British public wants
Sir Keir Starmer claims his Brexit reset deal will be 'good for our borders'. But it won't even let him send back Channel migrants to France, which is the one thing the public would expect from a Prime Minister cosplaying at being tough on immigration to counter the rise of Reform UK. Britain has not been able to return illegal immigrants to an EU country since Brexit took practical effect in January 2021 and the UK left the bloc's Dublin regulations. The reset does not include a UK-EU migrant-returns deal, or even the promise to discuss one in the future. It was not even part of these talks with our nearest neighbours. 'I have been following these talks for the last two months and that was never on the table,' said an EU diplomat. Sir Keir has got vague language promising to work together on fighting illegal immigration and to boost cooperation with Europol in a 'document of common understanding', which will be published at Monday's UK-EU summit. 'This is very declaratory. It is about the direction of travel rather than something concrete' said a second EU diplomat, 'and there is nothing in it about a UK-EU migrant-return deal.' Labour certainly wants an EU migrant-return deal. Before the general election, it reportedly was willing to take in resettled refugees from the EU to get one before walking that back after public outcry. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said a deal has to be struck at European level before France will accept any returned small-boat migrants from the UK. Germany and Belgium have also turned down British overtures for bilateral return deals, instead insisting negotiations must be done with Brussels. The European Commission refused to negotiate a replacement deal for Dublin in the original Brexit negotiations. Despite all the warm talk of new beginnings, nothing has changed. An EU-wide deal needs the unanimous backing of all 27 member states. Greece and Italy don't want to take back migrants. Hungary's anti-migrant government has ruled out the British deal. The Prime Minister decided not to ask for something he didn't think he'd get, which is unambitious. It would be difficult, but difficult agreements can be struck with friends and allies, if you aren't more interested in clinching a quick deal to go with agreements struck with India and Donald Trump. Sir Keir has got a defence pact, which is symbolic in terms of Russia and Ukraine, and could one day help boost defence spending. A Swiss-style veterinary deal will bring an estimated boost of 0.1 per cent in GDP by facilitating trade in agrifood by the UK aligning with EU laws on plant and animal health. He also has the promise of more negotiations over closer relations with the EU. In return, he will turn Britain into an EU rule-taker, make it easier for young Europeans to live and work here, and give away long-term access to British fishing waters. Sir Keir's goals for these new Brexit negotiations have been achievable, modest and costly in terms of concessions such as alignment that Brussels will bank for future talks. The number of illegal immigrants on all the main routes into the EU dropped by 27 per cent in the first four months of 2025, reaching nearly 47,000, according to the Frontex border agency. It said the number of attempted Channel crossings rose by 5 per cent year-on-year, reaching 18,100, it said. Sir Keir spent the last week playing the hard man on immigration but with little success. His conversion from Rwanda plan foe to promising offshore detention camps for failed asylum seekers is a transparent effort to head off the threat of a poll-topping Nigel Farage. The Reform leader is fresh from his unprecedented victory in the local elections that has Labour worried and many people now viewing his Brexit-backing party as the real opposition rather than the Tories. That's why Sir Keir talks about pipe dreams of setting up camps in the western Balkans when he can't even get a migrant back across the Channel. Red Wall Brexit voters already deserting Labour will look at his reset deal, see it's oversold, and ask, 'what's the point of that?'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer's EU reset fails to secure the one thing the British public wants
Sir Keir Starmer claims his Brexit reset deal will be ' good for our borders '. But it won't even let him send back Channel migrants to France, which is the one thing the public would expect from a Prime Minister cosplaying at being tough on immigration to counter the rise of Reform UK. Britain has not been able to return illegal immigrants to an EU country since Brexit took practical effect in January 2021 and the UK left the bloc's Dublin regulations. The reset does not include a UK-EU migrant-returns deal, or even the promise to discuss one in the future. It was not even part of these talks with our nearest neighbours. 'I have been following these talks for the last two months and that was never on the table,' said an EU diplomat. Sir Keir has got vague language promising to work together on fighting illegal immigration and to boost cooperation with Europol in a 'document of common understanding', which will be published at Monday's UK-EU summit. 'This is very declaratory. It is about the direction of travel rather than something concrete' said a second EU diplomat, 'and there is nothing in it about a UK-EU migrant-return deal.' Labour certainly wants an EU migrant-return deal. Before the general election, it reportedly was willing to take in resettled refugees from the EU to get one before walking that back after public outcry. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said a deal has to be struck at European level before France will accept any returned small-boat migrants from the UK. Germany and Belgium have also turned down British overtures for bilateral return deals, instead insisting negotiations must be done with Brussels. The European Commission refused to negotiate a replacement deal for Dublin in the original Brexit negotiations. Despite all the warm talk of new beginnings, nothing has changed. An EU-wide deal needs the unanimous backing of all 27 member states. Greece and Italy don't want to take back migrants. Hungary's anti-migrant government has ruled out the British deal. The Prime Minister decided not to ask for something he didn't think he'd get, which is unambitious. It would be difficult, but difficult agreements can be struck with friends and allies, if you aren't more interested in clinching a quick deal to go with agreements struck with India and Donald Trump. Turning Britain into EU rule-taker Sir Keir has got a defence pact, which is symbolic in terms of Russia and Ukraine, and could one day help boost defence spending. A Swiss-style veterinary deal will bring an estimated boost of 0.1 per cent in GDP by facilitating trade in agrifood by the UK aligning with EU laws on plant and animal health. He also has the promise of more negotiations over closer relations with the EU. In return, he will turn Britain into an EU rule-taker, make it easier for young Europeans to live and work here, and give away long-term access to British fishing waters. Sir Keir's goals for these new Brexit negotiations have been achievable, modest and costly in terms of concessions such as alignment that Brussels will bank for future talks. The number of illegal immigrants on all the main routes into the EU dropped by 27 per cent in the first four months of 2025, reaching nearly 47,000, according to the Frontex border agency. It said the number of attempted Channel crossings rose by 5 per cent year-on-year, reaching 18,100, it said. Sir Keir spent last the week cosplaying as a hard man on immigration but has done nothing to get a returns deal that should be Britain's main ask from the EU. His conversion from Rwanda plan foe to promising offshore detention camps for failed asylum seekers is a transparent effort to head off the threat of a poll-topping Nigel Farage. The Reform leader is fresh from his unprecedented victory in the local elections that has Labour worried and many people now viewing his Brexit-backing party as the real opposition rather than the Tories. That's why Sir Keir talks about pipe dreams of setting up camps in the western Balkans when he can't even get a migrant back across the Channel.
