UK begins detaining illegal small boat migrants under French returns treaty

London, Aug 7 (PTI) The UK government said on Thursday that border force officials have begun detaining migrants who arrive on the country’s shores illegally on dangerous small boats as a new treaty becomes operational for returning some of them back across the English Channel to France.
     The Home Office said detentions under the so-called “one in, one out” pilot scheme began on Wednesday afternoon, with those held being taken to immigration removal centres pending their removal.
     Under the new treaty, the UK will make referrals to France within three days, and the French authorities will be expected to respond within 14 days after which the next phase of preparing individuals for removal will be activated.
     “Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France,” said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
     “That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat. No one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs,” she said.
     The minister said the latest detentions are an important step towards undermining the business model and false promises of criminal people smuggling gangs.
     “These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started – sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change,” added Cooper.
     Simultaneously, a reciprocal process to allow migrants to submit an expression of interest to come to the UK has also begun by the French border authorities. Applicants are expected to meet eligibility and suitability criteria, including uploading a passport or other identity documents as well as a recent photograph.
     Those selected will have to pass further “stringent” security checks and biometric controls, meaning that only those individuals that the UK government has approved for entry will be allowed through the new route, the Home Office said.
     “As the one-in, one-out pilot scheme continues into its implementation phase, the Home Office is also working to communicate information about the new treaty to any migrants in northern France and beyond.
     The Home Office wants to communicate to migrants who are considering making a dangerous small boat crossing, with a hard-hitting campaign warning them not to risk their money or their life, and it will be promoted in the coming days across multiple channels.
     The UK and French authorities are expected to keep the new scheme under constant review in the initial weeks to deal with any emerging issues, as well as seeking to ramp up the pace and scale of returns as the agreement progresses.
     The British government said these latest measures to return illegal migrants to other countries will continue as part of its wider immigration enforcement work, aimed at curbing the country’s soaring migration figures.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)