The number of migrants illegally crossing the English Channel into Britain and France to enter illegally has exceeded 20,000 this year, according to figures released by British authorities on Sunday.

The Ministry of Defense reported that 607 people made this dangerous route in small boats on Saturday, one of the busiest crossings so far this year.

According to a count by the British news agency PA, since the beginning of the year 20,010 people have crossed the Channel, whereas on the same date in 2021 there were 11,300 people.

In total last year, 28,500 people arrived in Britain this way, which is a record number that has not stopped increasing since 2018 when security was strengthened at the French port of Calais and in tunnels transiting under the Strait.

A recent report by the UK Parliament estimates that, by the end of 2022, the number of entries via this route could reach 60,000, despite repeated promises by the Conservative government to curb immigration, one of Brexit’s main problems.

Britain reached an agreement with Rwanda in April to send asylum seekers who entered Britain illegally to the East African country.

In June, the first deportation flight was canceled following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the pan-European tribunal of the Strasbourg (France) Council of Europe that oversees compliance with the European Convention on Humans. Right.

But two potential successors to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, have pledged to continue this policy.

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