The number of people smuggled into the UK via the English Channel in the first quarter has decreased by 17 percent compared to the same quarter last year, official figures show.
The crossings during the 90-day period this year and last year occurred on exactly the same number of days, suggesting the reduction may not be due to weather conditions.
It comes as the government is fighting legal challenges over plans to house illegal immigrants in disused military bases and deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
In January, 1,180 people arrived on 29 boats, followed by 1,173 people on 41 boats in February and 840 people on 21 boats in March.
Amid changeable weather conditions at sea, no crossings have been recorded since March 29.
This year, the crossings occurred on 29 days during the period, Home Office data show. According to an analysis of official data by the PA News Agency, the crossings last year also occurred on 29 days.
The number of people who arrived in the UK by crossing the English Channel has increased dramatically over the past four years, from 299 people in 2018 to 45,755 people in 2022.
Last year, the number of small boat arrivals accounted for almost 85 percent of all irregular immigrants detected (54,090), compared to 4,569 inadequately documented air arrivals (8 percent). There were also 3,456 people who were detected in the UK (6 percent) and 310 people who were detected at British sea ports, Home Office figures show.
According to immigration minister Robert Jenrick, housing asylum seekers in hotels is costing British taxpayers £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) a year.
Asked if she accepts “things are failing” under the Conservative government and with her as the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman said she accepts that the UK has an “unsustainable problem,” adding, “the context is important.
“We’re in the middle of a global migration crisis. The UK is not alone with facing unprecedented numbers of illegal arrivals,” she told Sky’s “Sophy Ridge on Sunday” programme.
Asked about reports that the Home Office wants to resume the flights to Rwanda by this summer, Braverman declined to set out the timing.
“We are making very steady progress,” she said.
“I’m not going to give a deadline as to when flights will take off. We have to be realistic. We’ve had a very strong victory in the High Court at the end of last year on Rwanda. We’ve now introduced legislation we want to move as quickly as possible to relocate people from the UK to Rwanda,” she said.
Under the Rwanda deal, the UK government can send all eligible illegal immigrants, including asylum seekers, to the east African country. Successful asylum applicants will not be brought back to the UK. Unaccompanied children and those who can prove risks of mistreatment in Rwanda would not be eligible for relocation.
Apart from the Rwanda plan, the Home Office’s new proposal to place single adult male asylum seekers in three former military bases is also facing legal challenges.
Essex’s Braintree District Council has also applied for an injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed at RAF Wethersfield Airfield.
